Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle
by Things-One-and-Two
Summary: Eyes of the road, knees of the trees... It sounded like a whole mess of words to Elizabeth, but the Devil's riddle holds the key to finally reuniting her with her then fiancee, William Turner. If only he still loved her... WE POSTDMC!
1. Eyes of the Road

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or any refrences to the plots of the previous two movies, in which all are copyrighted to Disney. What do I own? This loverly plot-bunny that I just had to publish before the next chapter of The Way the Wind Blows.**

**Author's Notes: It's eleven o'clock at night, and this plot bunny jumps into my head, and it won't let me fall asleep until it is put upon paper... erm... word-document. It's a short first chapter, but I didn't want to... go overboard by shoving ALL this information down your throat at once.**

**So. What do you _need_ to know to read this fanfic? Both movies. You must also know that this is about a week after the crew met with Tia Dalma after Jack died. They are out to get the _Pearl_, get the Captain, avoid Beckett and Davey Jones. My take of the third movie.**

**By the way... It's still W/E. May not look like it, but...**

**...Looks can be decieving.****

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**By: MJ**

**Chapter One**

**Eyes of the Road

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"_Where are we headed?"_

"_To Isle del Diablo, Miss Swann… or perhaps now it's been made Turner?"

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_

_The Island of the Devil_, Elizabeth thought to herself, as she, on Barbossa's orders, jumped from the longboat and began swimming towards the black sandy shore before her. From the tiny bit of Spanish she was taught by her governess, she quickly realized how perilous this journey would be. These thoughts were confirmed when the rowboat was carried by the horrible waves around the beaches into a pile of sharp rocks. It completely broke, the large planks now laid amongst the rocks. Elizabeth fought against the powerful waves, trying her best to avoid an unfortunate fate, but it was obvious that the governor's daughter had little swimming experience. She kept her head above the water, and swung her arms terrifyingly, afraid she would not be able to keep herself from an regrettable fate.

Suddenly, she felt someone pull at her waist, holding her to him or her, as they swam farther out into sea, away from the island and towards the small fishing schooner Tia Dalma had been able to give them. She could see the crew aboard the ship, bustling around doing their daily chores, and wondered if the person was taking her back. She continued to flail her arms to get away; she'd be damned if they were going to leave her behind.

"Stop flailing your arms like that," a cold voice hissed at her, "or we'll both drown."

"I can swim," she replied haughtily, and glowered as she heard the man chuckle, as he swam towards the island again; this time he swam at a safe enough distance away from the rocks.

"Not from what I just witnessed, Miss Swann." She flinched as he used her formal name, as she was finally able to recognize the voice. The way he was holding her, however, caused her to be unable of turning to look William Turner in the face. She felt helpless as they finally made it close enough to shore that they could walk, where Will immediately dropped his grasp on Elizabeth. He rearranged his pistol, sword, and hatchet on his belt, before he trudged up the black-sanded beach. He made a point to avoid certain areas, and once Elizabeth had gotten up on the beach, she realized why.

Pointed conch shells and large shards of broken rocks dappled the beaches. She made a point to step exactly where Will stepped. After a few moments, she reached the little congregation around the edge of where the jungle began. She stood beside Will, who seemed to be making it his duty to not even glance her way. Something stung her in her gut, but she ignored it as the one of the two other members of their party began to speak.

"At da edge o' da isle, dere be a volcano," a woman, who's indigenous-looking clothing was clinging to her skeletal frame, spoke; she gestured wildly to the large mountain in the midst of the jungle. "In'a watery cave at da edge o' de volcano, lives da god o' da sea 'imself; Poseidon. But he be way beneath da surface—far from where you an' me could wand'ah. He lives, as da legend goes, on a bed of coral at da bottom of da ocean." Everyone nodded, as if they had already known this, but the astonished looks on their faces ruined what sincerity they thought they were establishing. "We must offer 'im dis," she pulled a small object wrapped in a burlap sack out of her side purse, before she quickly put it back inside, "for da Pearl."

"What about Jack?" Will asked suddenly, causing Elizabeth's head to jerk upwards and her eyes to watch her fiancée.

"We need dat ship before we can rescue de Captain, and we need t' talk to Poseidon." Tia Dalma said gruffly. She folded her arms across her chest in a very defensive way. She stared at him, before she smiled and spoke again.

"Now. Dere be no path to da volcano, but we must be careful dat we do not get lost in da jungle. Because we may never make it out of it alive."

"What optimism," Will said grimly. "Why wouldn't we make it out alive?"

"Ye never let me finish, boy, but dat be all right—I like 'em feisty," Tia Dalma flirted, winking at Will. He seemed to be even more uncomfortable at that thought, as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Elizabeth cleared her throat, but Will merely rolled his eyes and made a dark comment under his breath, that Elizabeth barely caught:

"As if you have any room to talk."

Again, she felt a panging in her stomach that she couldn't quite explain. She seemed to be grasping at straws with her hurried explanations for his sentence, and she wasn't quite listening to what Tia Dalma was saying anymore. Her thoughts were broken at Will's bitter laugh.

"So… You're saying that not just Poseidon lives on this island, but it's an island created _for_ the devil himself? What kind of a fool do you take me for, Tia Dalma?"

"A larger one than you think if you don't listen to her," Elizabeth said coldly. Will shot her a scathing glare, and she returned it, causing the fourth member of their party to laugh humorlessly. They both turned to look at the scraggily looking man in the large plumed hat, and he merely shrugged in return.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked rhetorically, yet neither of the pair caught that latter fact.

"No."

"Yes."

Elizabeth turned to stare at Will in shock as he agreed to Barbossa's accusations. It was as if he had slapped her, and she was trying her hardest not to cry. Will turned back to Tia, who was smiling again; in a way that both of them knew meant she knew something they didn't. It made Will squirm slightly under her scrutinizing gaze, and this only made her smile larger. "So… This island was created for the Devil by… God?"

"Not any god—Hades had two brothers, Zeus, god of da upper world, and Poseidon, god of da sea." Tia said calmly "Poseidon has the power within himself, if he wills, to create new lands in da sea. In one o' dese better moods, he created two new islands for 'is brothers."

"Why does he live on this one, then?"

"Because Hades refused it. The god of da underworld don't like to be anywhere else but the underworld. And Poseidon, in his anger for his brother's selfishness, decided to live underneath this island for spite."

"How will he help us retrieve the _Pearl_?"

"Where d'ya t'ink the _Pearl_ be, boy? On land? Or at da bottom o' da sea?" Tia Dalma asked in such a way that Will felt immediately stupid. She shook her head and smiled. "We must offer 'im a gift in return for da ship. Den, we must offer 'im another for da information on Jack."

She looked around and smiled, "Dis be where we are supposed to start. William Turner—you go first. Go straight; no matter what be in your way. Cut it with your sword. We will come to a clearing after a while. Cap'n Barbossa will go in da end. We bein' women an' all, Mrs. Turner--"

"It's still Miss Swann," Will said roughly before Elizabeth could politely point out Tia's mistake. Again, his words felt like he had physically slapped her. Tia's smile held something of a greater power in it, but both of the feuding members of the troublesome couple were too naïve to notice.

"—We be following in da middle. You go second—I need t' talk to Barbossa."

They took their positions, forming a very crude line as Will took out his sword. He stared at it for a moment, before his eyes turned up to the massive jungle, and finally they landed on Tia Dalma. At her nod, he began to slash the immense vegetation the jungle had.

There was very little noise being emitted from the small group—Barbossa and Tia were talking in hushed voices, and Will would hiss every once in a while as the thorned bushes would scrape and cut his arms and face. He tried to follow the best straight line he could, and he must've succeeded, as after a little bit, they came to a clearing.

"Start a fire, Turner, we rest here," Barbossa barked, extending his arm so that the fully clothed monkey residing on his shoulder could jump down. The little bugger moved about the small clearing, gnawing at an odd-looking coin. Will grunted in reply, looking around until he saw what he needed—kindling. He went to work in the middle of said clearing, completely focused and concentrated on the task at hand. Biting her lips as she saw him purposely avoid her, again, Elizabeth sat next to Tia Dalma, and the island woman offered her a small smile.

"Times be rough now, Miss Swann, but dey be gettin' bett'ah soon," she said in a reassuring voice. Elizabeth offered her a smile as compensation. She was watching Will strike a branch with a rock repeatedly, trying to get sparks to fly onto the dead leaves and twigs he was using for kindling. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look at Tia Dalma.

"Ye'll be married t' 'im in no time. Give 'im time, dat boy's got a destiny about 'im so," she said, her eyes slightly glazing as she held a look that made it seem that she was miles away from true reality. Again, all Elizabeth could offer was a smile.

_Destiny?_

She shook the thought from her head, as she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly. She rested her chin on the tops of her knees, and continued to watch her love. His motions were quick and well thought out, yet he seemed to not be completely there. In fact, Elizabeth was willing to wager that if he were to look at her, she'd see anger and hurt in his eyes. She sniffed, and watched as the kindling began to smoke.

He bent down, blowing ever so gently on the small fire, and smiled victoriously at the results. The grin grew wider, and he glanced up at Barbossa, who was eating an apple he had retrieved from his coat pocket. "Keep it going, I'm going to go out and get larger pieces of wood."

"I'll go with you," Elizabeth said quickly. Will didn't look her way; instead he looked at Tia, who smiled.

"Go back da way we came. Stay close t'yer path, and if'n ye need 'elp, ye call."

Will nodded at her words and moved towards the faint opening in the vegetation. Barbossa barked, "Well, go on then!" towards Elizabeth, who was still sitting there, dumbstruck that he hadn't even acknowledged her. She jumped up, frightened, and moved quickly behind Will.

After a while of tension-filled silence, Elizabeth had to do something; it was suffocating her. "Will," she said softly, but he kept moving, his eyes darting around him for some dry wood he could use. "Will," she said, louder yet, but he still managed to ignore her. She bit back sobs as she cried aloud, "William Turner—say something! Say anything—I can't take this silence anymore!"

"You should've thought of that before--" but he stopped himself as he turned around to glare icily at her; he had noticed she was silently crying. His face softened, but his eyes remained hard and hurt.

"Before _what_, Will? What have I done to deserve this?"

"As if you don't already know!"

"I know nothing of why you are so angry with me, as you haven't given me the slightest _clue_ as to what is going on!" She shrieked, her voiced thoughts echoing throughout the jungle. Will folded his arms over his chest.

"It wasn't proper."

"Our relationship has never _been_ proper, Will," she regretted the words just as soon as they left her mouth. The emotion that flashed in his eyes made her sick to her stomach; as betrayal became as clear as light right across his chocolate brown eyes. "No, Will, I didn't mean it--"

She was cut off when he laughed bitterly, and the sound tore her even further apart. "Go back to camp, Elizabeth, so we can save _your_ Jack Sparrow."

"Captain."

"Always was a fan of his, weren't you?" He laughed again, and realization dawned on her features. "I let it go the first time he let it slip up at the fort--do you remember?-- but this is just too much." He snorted, "And _our_ relationship wasn't proper," he laughed again and turned away from her.

He was standing right in front of her—she could see him so clearly! —but it felt as if he wasn't even there anymore. He wasn't real to her anymore, and it only tore her up even more inside. Had she been the one who had turned the gentleman that was William Turner into this beast? She shook her head at the thought.

"Go, Miss Swann, I doubt you'd be much help to me if you stayed," Will said harshly, and she could only reply equally as icily.

"Once again you have underestimated me, Mister Turner. And that is no one's fault but your own," Elizabeth bit the inside of her cheek to keep her from revealing everything yet. He was still angry—she had to find a time when he wasn't so emotionally unstable to tell him that she had done it for him. That she had kissed and betrayed Jack Sparrow so that they might survive long enough to get married. That one-day she and Will could grow old together; watch their children grow old, too. "Remember that one, Will."

He heard her footsteps against the fallen brush, and his shoulders relaxed. She had said his name so softly; that he could distinctly detect the love and passion it held. It made him think of times before Jack Sparrow complicated things. He snorted at the thought, knowing full well that 'complicated' was an understatement.

He wanted so bad to just forgive her and forget about it so that he might be able to hold her in his arms and kiss her as if there was no tomorrow. He wanted just to hold her, that was all, and yet his stubbornness forbade him. She betrayed him, and she'd have to regain that trust.

With a grunt, he picked up the chopped up wood and stood, making his way back into camp, his mind clouded with his thoughts. Once back at camp, he realized that Elizabeth wasn't anywhere to be seen. At first, he was worried, but when he heard faint sniffing, he realized she was probably hidden under the shade of one of the larger trees, and he also realized Tia Dalma was with her, as he specifically heard her voice say:

"Just be patient, Miss Swann, the universe 'as a funny way o' righin' itself."

Will snorted again, and began to build up the fire. His stomach made an odd gurgling noise, and he looked up at Barbossa. "What have we to eat?" He asked him, and the older man laughed. Will rolled his eyes and turned to Tia Dalma. "Well?"

"Didn't t'ink o' it, did'cha, William?" She asked, and he rolled his eyes, returning to his task at hand. "Don' worry—I'll go catch us some fish." Will wondered how'd she be able to do so; the beach was covered in such an array of things, and the ocean seemed untamable as it crashed down upon the black sand. Unfortunately, Tia was gone before he came up with the guts to ask. He moved away from the blazing fire, but stayed close to it. He figured it was getting darker—as the air around them seemed colder. Perhaps another thing that was only signature to this island? After all, he had been sweating moments before.

He heard the snapping of twigs as someone moved to sit next to him, and he didn't have to look to know that it was his Elizabeth.

_No. Not anymore—have you already forgotten how she betrayed you?_

Will grimaced; he would never be able to get the vision of his love—and his _fiancée_—kissing that horrible Jack Sparrow. Will silently vowed to kill the man all over again; the first chance he got.

He heard her shiver beside him, and he looked at her. She was still slightly damp from their excursion in the sea, only a few hours previous, and her damp clothes were clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She was also trying her best not to look at him, and unlike he, she was succeeding.

"Move closer if you're cold," he said gently.

"Not that's it's any of your concern, Mister Turner," he winced visibly as she used his proper name (and the wince was somewhat hypocritical, he later realized), "but I'm fine."

"You must be cold, here," he moved to take off his over coat. She silenced him with her last sentence.

"I won't take your coat, nor your pity; I'm fine."

And they didn't speak again until Tia Dalma returned with three large, black fish. Elizabeth took them, and grabbed a dagger out of the inside of her boots—a dagger, Will painfully realized, was the one he had given her—and began to skin them. Will watched her as she impaled them on a long stick Tia provided. She then placed them over the fire, and waited.

He felt somewhat of a savage, and he realized how out-of-place Elizabeth must have felt. If he, the common blacksmith, felt a bit out-of-place eating hunted fish over a fire (which, in a sense, could be considered a delicacy to his normal stew and bread), the governor's daughter must be the true fish out of water.

The group ate silently, all seemed to be too hungry and tired to talk. It was growing darker, and all were soon to realize exactly how tired they were. "Sleep und'ah da shade o' da trees—it'll be chilly tonight, but ye'll be t'ankful in da mornin'," Tia sniffed, and they all agreed with her, moving outwards towards the edges of the clearing. Will made himself comfortable around the above-ground roots of a large, shaded tree. Elizabeth followed him quickly, realizing that it was probably one of the better trees to sleep under. She shivered again, and he offered her a smile that disappeared as quickly as it came to be.

He shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her. At the signs of her protest, he frowned even further, "Take it. We don't need you sick."

Seeing that it was quite reasonable for him to think so, she took it, and buried herself beneath it. She moved around a bit before she got comfortable, and she watched him curiously. He unbuckled his boots, and was placing his weapons in key areas around him. He then shrugged off his large tunic, folded it, and placed it under his head. He turned his back to her, and sighed.

She, however, stifled a gasp at the large, scarred welts on his back. The thought of him going through so much—as they had had little time to discuss what had really gone on during his bout with Davey Jones and the _Flying Dutchman—_made tears well back up in her eyes. She also noticed that he, too, was cold—but not by visible shivering as she was. He had goosebumps all over his back and arms, and she could tell he wasn't getting much luck in falling asleep. She sighed, and got up. She lay down beside him—their bodies inches away from actually touching—and took off his coat. She placed part of it over him and part of it over her.

"We also don't need you freezing to death, William Turner, just because you're stubborn."

She could've sworn she heard him chuckle.

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Will groaned at the offensive light that was slowly trickling through the vast jungle, causing him to stir. He rolled over, and shivered. His eyes jerked open, and he turned and looked beside him, where he had heard a faint noise. He relaxed upon seeing Elizabeth, curled up under his large coat. She looked so tiny, that it made him smile, and for a moment he forgot about their troubles. 

For just that moment, as she quickly stirred after him, probably having noticed that there wasn't another body's warmth keeping her comfortable. He blushed as she turned her hazel eyes towards him, and genuinely smiled at him.

"Will," she said softly, sitting up behing him. She began to pull the twigs and leaves out of his hair so gently, that he barely felt her do such. When finished, she began to take them out of her own.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice still holding a bit of something that made her stomach churn.

"What… what happened on the _Flying Dutchman_?" She asked quietly, almost cautiously; truly afraid of his answer. He was quiet for a moment, wondering where she had gotten the nerve to ask him such a personal question, when he felt her delicate fingers trace the wounds on his back. His vision seemed to go red, and he snapped himself away from her touch.

"Curious now, are we?" He asked coldly, removing his shirt from it's position. He quickly slipped it on, and turned back to stare at her. "As if you care—perhaps my disappearance was just your excuse to be able to get friendly with Jack Sparrow."

"Captain—and, Will, it wasn't—I was worried--"

"That I might find out once I get back?"

"I was worried that you were--"

"Turner! Swann! Stop yer fightin' an' get yer arses over 'ere, we need ter be startin' soon!" Barbossa barked from his seat at the fire, where he was eating a similar-looking fish to last night. Will nodded, and stood, readjusting the miscellaneous weapons and such on his belt. He walked away from Elizabeth again, and she sat there, silently fuming.

Finally, she stood, and put on Will's coat, wrapping it tighter around her. She inhaled his scent and smiled—there was at least one thing from Will that she could keep. Two, if she counted the little golden ring on her fourth finger on her left hand. She twisted said ring around her finger for a moment before she walked towards the group. The three of them were standing in a small semi-circle around the fire, and Tia was dishing out more helpings of that strange black fish. The men ate silently, as Tia worked to put out the fire; her share and Elizabeth's share remaining untouched on two large banana leaves. About six pieces of the tropical fruit were beside them, and Elizabeth smiled at the idea of eating something sweet.

After they ate, silently, of course, they formed their crude line all over again. After the same brief instructions to go straight no matter what, Will began to hack a new path through the thick vegitation.

They didn't rest for hours, it seemed, and it was taking it's toll on Elizabeth. What's more, the temperature on the island had greatly increased, and she was afraid she'd come down with hyperthermia or heat stroke if she continued. She shrugged off Will's jacket and immediately felt cooled, but the good feeling didn't last. It was too hot and humid on the island, and it was driving her insane. She wanted to kiss the volcano as they finally came to it.

"Follow 'round da left side, William," Tia called from her spot, and he nodded. He took them around the left side of the volcano, trying his best to stay away from both the thick, vast forests, and the volcano. It was as if he were afraid that if he touched it, it would erupt, and they'd all die.

Something Will decided he didn't want happening anytime soon. The others followed him silently, until he stopped abruptly. Even at Tia's urging, something was causing Will to stop. Elizabeth grabbed his shoulders and gently nudged him onwards, but his feet seemed glued.

"What the hell is that?" He asked incredulously, although it was still just a quiet murmer, and he bent down a bit so Elizabeth could see, and so they'd still remain in the line. Her face contored into a look of shock, awe, and disbelief.

Before them was the same beach they had previously been on--except that the sand was now the white-gold they knew from their sense of "normal" islands. On the far end of the beach--still connected to the vast volcano--was a large cave. It opened wide in a rectangular-type opening, with large stalactytes that hung from the top. These large, sharp stalactytes were a glittering gold in color. On either sides of the cave wall were carvings in the rocks; all of them were dolphins. Elizabeth couldn't understand how something as trivial as a cave was causing Will to stop.

And then she saw it--or, her, rather--a tall, looming figure perched on the rocks near the cave. All that could be seen was her torso, the rest was hidden. When she saw them, her large, bright blue eyes widened, and she opened her mouth and let out a sound none of the group had ever heard before. They covered their eyes and ears to try and muffle the horrible screeching, until it abruptly stopped. They opened her eyes to realize she was gone.

"Go in dat cave," Tia Dalma said, and Will sent her a look that clearly said _are you crazy_? He took a deep breath and obeyed, however. He led their crude line into the cave, their footsteps disappearing on the sandy beaches as the waves became more violent. Once they were all inside, Will stopped again, as it sounded like there was an avalanche occuring somewhere in front of him. He turned to question Tia Dalma, when his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"What be it, boy?" She demanded. "I'm gettin' tired o' stoppin'!"

He couldn't form the words in his mouth, and instead he gestured behind them.

The stalactytes had lowered to the ground, entraping them in the cave. Elizabeth made an odd squeaking noise, Barbossa chuckled humorlessly, and Tia Dalma's eyes glazed over again. They were quickly knocked out of their dismayed states as a cold, demanding, yet somehow still pretty voice sounded behind them.

"There's no escaping this now."

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**Thanks again for reading, and I hope you all liked it!**


	2. Don't Die on Me

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. -shrugs- Somehow, I'm slowly getting over it... Perhaps Disney should, too, that way I don't have to do one of these every chapter... -continues to grumble about the uselessness of disclaimers-**

**Author's Notes: Well, this chapter took me forever to type, because I did so much research to made sure that my accounts for everything were accurate. If you look up Melusine on Wikipedia, you will, indeed, discover a similar story to the one I used. Also in this chapter is a few crucial things that you should all pay attention to. The first would be the prophecy from Poseidon. If you carefully analyze it, you will find the answers to this plot. I know the rhyme-scheme was horribly little-kid-ish, but I had to have it rhyme. I hate prophecies that don't rhyme. There is a lot of symblism in this chapter that is foreshadowing to the later plot... I hope someone picked up on it, because I've been told I'm crud at foreshadowing.**

**Eek. I'm rambling. But yes, this is a very crucial chapter... Just thought you ought to know. ****

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**Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle**

**Chapter Two: Don't Die on Me**

**By: MJ**

It was dark in the small cave now, as the only light had been coming from the outside, which was now seemingly blocked off by a wall of solid rock. Elizabeth instinctively took a step towards Will, and he ached to reach out and grab her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and protect her, but right now, he had more troublesome things to worry about.

One being that the… creature… seemed to know exactly who he was, as she had been cooing his name at him as the gates closed. A hand went to his sword, and whatever it was starting to giggle. It wasn't a human-like giggle, though, it sounded more or less like someone scratching his or her fingernails on a chalkboard. It ended abruptly, and there was a snap of someone's fingers.

Light flooded into the small, crowded space, revealing all for what they truly were. A group of four humans huddled together against the newly formed wall, and a mermaid-like creature blocking any further wanderings into the cave.

"What would we be trying to escape?" Will said shortly. The creature smiled.

"Me. Poseidon, perhaps… Possibly death, I'm not quite sure what the god of the sea has in for you, William Turner, but it's not as miniscule as the mystic told you."

"Mystic?"

"Dat be me," Tia Dalma said shortly, as she folded her arms over her chest and glared at the creature. "An' I didn't tell 'im anyt'ink wrong."

"But did you tell him _everything_?" Her voice was almost melodious; it was as if she were singing the words sweetly to them. She moved towards Will when Elizabeth stepped in front. He smiled softly at the thought, but it disappeared as the creature turned her entrancing blue eyes upon him. He avoided her gaze as she took both him and Elizabeth into consideration.

"So now the swinger-lady swings back to her first love? Sweet. A little pathetic, but sweet, nonetheless."

"I'm not a swinger-lady. I love William with all of my heart, and I'll be damned if you plan to kill him."

"She don't."

Elizabeth turned to look at Tia Dalma for a moment, astounded that she would know about something like this. "Then who is she… it? What is she?"

"_She_ is still standing right here—and _she_ can hear very well. _I_ am Melusine, daughter of Elynas and Pressyne. When I was a young child, my mother took us away from our father… he had betrayed her, and I don't like it when people betray others," she gave Elizabeth a pointed look before she smiled fondly at Will. Elizabeth's blood boiled as Melusine began her story again. "So my sisters and I plotted revenge. We locked him and his riches in the mountains…" Her eyes flashed an emotion that clearly read, as insanity, and her smile grew wicked before both emotions fizzled out and were replaced with sadness. "…All went well until my mother found out. She put a curse on me that every Saturday, I would become this." She gestured towards the fact that instead of having two legs, she had two large fins covered in green and blue scales. Green wings to match the tails had sprouted from her porcelain skin of her back, giving Elizabeth the impression of the mermaids her mother would talk of during their bedtime stories when Elizabeth was young. "I met my husband a while later in the forest… I told him I'd marry him if he promised to stay out of my chambers on Saturdays…" Her voice grew sad and angry as she continued bitterly, "But he betrayed me… He betrayed me, yet _I could forgive him_," she looked pointedly at Will, "_Because I loved him_. I forgave him… and then we had a disagreement," she turned to Elizabeth, "And he said something so utterly horrible that I couldn't forgive him. I became a dragon and flew away. Poseidon had called to me from the sea—and now… now I am his muse."

She continued to speak, but neither Will nor Elizabeth was paying attention. _I could forgive him because I loved him_… Her words rang through Will's mind. He stared at his boots, suddenly fascinated by them. He truly did love Elizabeth, but did he honestly have it in himself to forgive her for what she did?

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was also paying close attention to this muse's words. _He said something so utterly horrible during a disagreement_… Painfully, she remembered the disagreement the previous day where she had used how improper their relationship was against Will as if… as if she was any better than he. Truth was that she wasn't—they were both pirates at heart. They had both broken the law for someone who truly didn't give a damn about either of them, and, eventually, they would both have to suffer the consequences of their actions. Maybe Melusine had a point; they should put aside their differences for their love. She looked towards Will and sighed.

"When you two are down being melodramatic, there are certain things that need to be discussed," Melusine said sharply, and both lovers' heads snapped towards the muse.

"Like what?" Will snapped back impatiently.

"Like something called _destiny_, dear William," she cooed, moving towards him again. She placed a hand on his cheek and stroked if for a moment. "You look just like him," she giggled again, causing him to place his hands over his ears to block out the horrid sound. She frowned, and moved away, grabbing a torch off of the walls. "Follow me."

They fell into a crude line behind Melusine as she led them further into the cave. From what Will (who was in front) could see by the light the torch shed, they were walking lower and lower into the ground. His suspicions were confirmed when they began to step in water. The muse spun around and grinned at the flabbergasted blacksmith, who merely offered her an untrusting glance before he backed up and took a hold of Elizabeth's hand.

"This is were you stop."

"And you just--?"

"I stay here, too. My, aren't we impatient, William!" She exclaimed, giggling again before she turned to the water. She opened her mouth and began to sing a soft melodious tune that none of the group was able to comprehend. The waters around her began to bubble and give off a bit of a purple glowing as her voice grew higher and higher, echoing off the walls, ringing in their ears. When she stopped, the small congregation of four pirates was gaping at the muse as she smiled at them sweetly.

Then, a deep singing voice returned her original song, the smooth tempos of his baritone voice soothing to the four. They relaxed, now realizing that this must be the way that Melusine and Poseidon communicate. When the song ended, she turned to them, and said.

"What have you to offer?"

"We be offerin' 'im dis," Tia Dalma took the small sack out of her pocket, and pulled from it a golden dolphin statue, with two black pearls for eyes. "For da Pearl."

"And what have you for the other thing you have come to request?"

"I fink ye already know what we be givin' fer dat," Tia Dalma snapped at the muse, obviously unamused and growing impatient.

"Very well. Am I to assume that William knows what he's doing, then?"

"No. Barbossa an' me figgered ye'd be da best one t'tell 'im o' his destiny." Will's head had snapped up at the mention of him doing something, and his brows furrowed as once more Tia Dalma mentioned his "destiny". Melusine smiled at Will, before she moved out of the water, took the dolphin from Tia Dalma's hands, and went back into the water.

She began to sing again, and Will turned to give Tia Dalma a questioning stare. She merely returned it with a knowing smile, and Elizabeth gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He jumped at the soft touch; he had forgotten that they were holding hands at all. He dropped the grasp and took a side step away from her. She was about to reply hotly when Melusine stopped singing.

"William Turner—there is a prophecy about you… about your life… about your choices… and most importantly, about how you will aide in the return of Jack Sparrow. You must listen carefully, and take all the words into account. I can only give you one clue, and it is this…

"Not everything is really what it seems to be. Things can have more than one meaning; it is your destiny to choose which one you want to follow… Are you listening?" At his nod, she continued.

"Good. Here is the prophecy:

"_Eyes of road,_

_Knees of the trees,_

_Come to the Devil's head—_

_Where blood will be met,_

_Tears shall be shed,_

_And only one shall return from the dead._

"_Ye must be wary, though,_

_Of that Devil's fiddling tales,_

_Divided ye'll be,_

_Searching for the truth,_

_And of course, only one shall prevail._

"_Don't let his surpassing greed,_

_Become your unfortunate fate,_

_Gold and silver are just things,_

_They do not equal love and hate._

"_Just do the task before you,_

_And never turn back,_

_And once you are out of harm's ways,_

_He will help you cover tracks._

"_Yes, beware of ol' Scratch's deathly riddle,_

_For it is not what it seems—_

_Because the true answers to this tale,_

_Shall come to you in your dreams…"_

"That is all I am allowed to reveal to you, William, the rest is up to you and your friends to discover…. I believe there was something else you were here for--?" Melusine asked, although her knowing smile discredited the sincerity in her sickeningly sweet voice.

"Da Black Pearl," Tia Dalma said. Melusine nodded, and this time, she let out the same shriek she had when they first had seen her on the beach. Immediately, four sets of hands went to their respected ears as she screeched. When it was over, they looked at her, suddenly terrified."

"You have one hour to return back from whence you came," Melusine said. "The seas will be calm, the beaches will be normal, but only for that hour. Once that hour is gone, you are on your own to get off the island."

**

* * *

It was a ludicrous idea—as it had taken them two days to make it from one side to the other—but Tia Dalma had had a plan. She told Will right before the stalactites rose to go the same way they came—except this time, the path would be there for them. Confused, Will merely followed her directions, as he realized he didn't have a lot of time to argue. Elizabeth and the others fought to keep up with Will, who seemed to be going as fast as his legs could take him. "Will—slow down!" Elizabeth called, almost laughing at Will's sudden haste to make it off the island. She could see the black sand beyond them on the beach. "Didn't you hear Tia Dalma—we're going to make it regardless of how fast you--"**

She was cut off by Will's sudden scream as he fell to the ground, landing right on the front beach. A hand flew to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Will!"

He was clutching his ankle, and breathing rather heavily. At first, she only thought of it as broken, until she heard hissing. A black snake was slowly making it's way from where Will was lying to the rocks a bit farther down on the beach. Elizabeth rushed towards Will even faster, realizing how critical the situation now was. Her eyes remained on the snake; however, just to insure she didn't get bit either. The snake turned back, as if it was coming back to her, before it winked. Or, at least she thought it winked at her—but she knew from her schooling that snakes don't have eyelids. She probably would have pondered how a snake could have possibly winked at her, if Will hadn't been groaning horribly as he clutched his leg.

"Move your hand," she commanded, taking charge of the situation. Not caring anymore of his silence towards her, he numbly obeyed, still groaning. She lowered her head to the wound and proceeded to suck the poison out. Tia Dalma and Barbossa had finally caught up, and they watched with intrigue as the Governor's daughter cared for her ailing fiancée.

"Oi! Lookie ovah there!" A familiar voice called to the quartet. Elizabeth didn't waste a moment's glance. She had immediately recognized the voice, and therefore discarded all of Pintel's comments. "The Black Pearl's been raised from th' depths!"

Well, you have to give the man some credit; after all, he hadn't been in Poseidon's cave. Still, Elizabeth snorted. She felt the pudgy man sink into the sand next to her.

"Time t'go, poppet," he said, motioning for her to join them in the rowboat.

"I'm not leaving Will here."

"Did I say tha'? I jus' figgered ye didn' want t'carry him yerself," he said sarcastically, taking on that bite in his voice she originally recognized from her first adventure on the Black Pearl. Will groaned and clutched at Pintel's shirt as the man picked him up. "Oooh… 'Eavy. Rigetti!" The tall man who had been talking animatedly to Tia Dalma (completely oblivious to what else was going on around him) nearly fell over as the shorter man addressed him. He ran over, in the awkward fashion that was nearly made infamous by the man, and was quickly at Pintel's side. "'Elp me carry th'whelp." He grunted. Rigetti nodded, but seemed clueless on what exactly Pintel wanted him to do. It wasn't until Will's legs were nearly forcibly shoved into his arms did the skeletal pirate comprehend the situation. They walked awkwardly to the rowboat, the ocean completely calm. Elizabeth followed behind them, her suntanned face covered in her moist, salty tears as she silently wept for her one true love. She heard the hiss of the snake, and an anger boiled up inside of her, one that she had never felt before.

Before she left _Isle del Diablo_, Elizabeth picked up some seaweed that had washed up on the black shore. Tucking it into her pocket, she finally was in the rowboat, and they were making their way out to open sea. The Black Pearl could be spotted directly next to their old merchant ship, and the men were delivering their boxes of cargo from one ship to the other as Pintel and Rigetti hastily rowed them up to the overbearing black ship.

Elizabeth was cutting up the seaweed she had taken, while Tia Dalma had wet a cloth and was using it to dab off the sweat from Will's forehead. He was moaning, and had fallen unconscious halfway to the ship. "Can't you go any faster?" Elizabeth snapped severely at the two bubbling men, and they did, in fact, speed up.

By the time they had reached the ship, Elizabeth had finished with her haphazard poultice, and Tia Dalma had successfully removed of Will's shirt, and had used the cloth to block off the heavy flow of venom from Will's leg. She had tied a piece of the shirt about four inches above the wound. Elizabeth snatched some of the extra material from her, and applied the poultice gel to it. She then set it on the wound and tied it loosely over the bite. She let her fingers caress Will's face for but a moment, before the younger man was rudely shoved over Barbossa's shoulder as the crew on the Pearl began to pull people over the side and onto the ship.

"Careful," Elizabeth whispered, but she knew Barbossa didn't hear her. Either that, or the elder man truly didn't care what happened to the boy. Truthfully, Elizabeth wasn't sure. She sighed, and grabbed onto the last rope, where she was quickly hoisted upwards onto the Pearl.

Her eyes scanned the deck for any sign of Barbossa or Will, and panicked upon finding no trace of either. She jumped and squealed as a hand came to her shoulder, and she blushed when Tia Dalma chuckled.

"Jumpy, aren't we, chile? Yer dear William is bein' taken t'da Cap'n's quartahs. Ye need to stay wit him tonigh', no matter wha' he say or do, undahstood?" Tia Dalma asked, gently grabbing Elizabeth's shoulders to force her hazel eyes to stare into Tia's. Elizabeth mutely nodded and walked towards the cabin. Tia shook her head and sighed.

"Dose two are gonna haf'ta go t' 'ell an' back fer each other… I hope der ligh' 'earts can take da strain…" She said vaguely, before she instructed Ana Maria to talk the helm and steer them towards the Spanish Americas. "…'Cause dey may haf'ta do it alone…" She whispered when no one else was around her, her eyes glazing over as a weird smile crossed her features.

**

* * *

_There was smoke all around him, smoke so thick that it blocked his line of vision in an entire 360-degree circle. He took a step forward, and the smoke seemed to clear… At least, it cleared in front of him to reveal a set of stairs. They were made of stone, but didn't look it. In fact, it looked like the stairs had been made of human skulls. Something inside of Will urged him on… Urged him to climb the stairs—what hurt was there to see where they went?_**

_He began his trudge up the stairs; slightly numb the sound of his echoing footsteps that were beginning to sound like shrieks of horror. The smoke was clearing even more now; he could see so much more around him. It was at that moment that he realized he was carrying something._

_Confused chocolate brown eyes went to the large thing in his hand. It was twisted and ugly—it looked like a horribly twisted, knobbed leg. Except there wasn't a foot, and Will realized (right before he was about to toss it away in horror) that it was made of wood._

_He looked up from the odd-looking tree branch (as that was what Will assumed it to be) to realize that he was slowly running out of steps. A large platform loomed threateningly above him, and he gulped. Finally, he was there, and he nearly screamed in horror at what he saw._

_The platform held to it an alter, but that was not what had scared Will senseless. No, behind the alter was a throne, and upon that throne was the ugliest thing he had ever seen. It had the upper body of an adult human, but the lower half of a goat. He had long, flowing, curly hair, and out of said hair came two large, pointed horns. The thing grinned devilishly at Will, baring yellowed teeth hidden behind a curly goatee. His skin was bright red, and it was then that Will realized where he was._

"_Am I dead?" _

"_Not yet," Hades answered. "Will."_

"_What?"_

"_William…"_

"_What is it—what have I done to deserve this—if I'm not dead—"

* * *

_

"Why am I here?" He shouted into the unknown, thrashing in the bed Barbossa had placed him in as Elizabeth continued to call his name, trying her best to keep him from falling out. "Why are you tormenting me like this? WHAT HAVE I DONE!"

Elizabeth was openly sobbing, for she hated to see her love in such a state. Obviously the fever had taken over him, as his eyes were tightly shut, he was sweating profusely, and looked as though he was about to be sick. "Will—please--"

"Please what--? I refuse to kill anyone… ANYONE. I don't give a damn about Jack Sparrow anymore—how can I get out of here!"

"Will, you don't have to kill anyone--"

"No! NO! I won't do it! YOU CAN'T BLOODY MAKE ME! DO YOU HEAR ME! CAN YOU HEAR ME! You have no control… no control… Elizabeth… Elizabeth…"

"Will, I'm right here! Will… Please…"

"Elizabeth… I'm doing this for you… Only for you… Please… Be happy… Please…"

"Will, I'd be happier if you'd just come back to me!"

"Can't… Elizabeth… didn't… you… hear--?" Will said, his voice quieting down. He was no longer thrashing, although he still seemed to be delirious. His eyes opened wide, and he saw her and smiled. "Didn't you hear, Elizabeth--? I'm dead… I'm dead to you—that's what you said… I heard you say it, Elizabeth… You said it just a few moments ago… Didn't you think I'd hear?"

"Will—what are you talking about--?"

"Elizabeth, get away from me… You don't need me now… Jack's here. Jack is the one you love… Not me… Don't try to make me happy, Elizabeth… You love Jack… You've always loved Jack… I was too big a fool to realize--"

He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening. "Will! Will, what's wrong!"

"Good-bye, Elizabeth… Good-bye forever and ever… Dead… world's gone… dying… blood… tree… tears… dreams…" His eyes were slowly closing… Something rose up inside of Elizabeth, something so powerful that it caused her to raise a hand and slap Will painfully across the face. His eyes opened, and he looked at her. "Can't I die in peace? You're happy now… I see the way you're looking at Jack…"

"Will," she sobbed, grabbing onto his hand and squeezing it, "I see no one but you… I love no one but you…"

"Stop trying to merely make me happy… You don't love me… You wished me dead… I heard you… I heard you… I…"

"William Turner—stay awake! I need you! I love you!" She had buried her head in his shoulder, and panicked at how hot his skin was. "Don't die on me, Will… Please… Please…"

"Didn't you hear, Elizabeth? I'm already dead."

"No, Will—NO! I don't care who is talking to you, you are alive… You love me, and I you, and we are going to marry. I don't give a damn about Jack anymore—Will, don't you see--? I killed him! I killed Jack Sparrow so that you and I could be together!" She lifted her head to see that his eyes were already closed; he hadn't heard her. He hadn't heard her before he…

Then, quite suddenly, his chest rose and fell. Elizabeth cried for joy, before she began to cool him down, taking a wet cloth and dabbing away at the sweat that was all around him. Still crying, she began to monitor the status of her love, her hands shaking as she worked.

"I love you," she whispered over and over to his unconscious form, "Don't die on me…"

* * *

**Would I be so cruel as to kill off Will so early in the game?  
What could possibly be the meaning of his mysterious dream?  
What was he holding in his hands?  
Did Elizabeth really wish him to be dead?  
What does that bloody prophecy mean?**

**...All will be answered in the next chapter--which should be coming by the end of the week, so keep a head's up, and a sharp eye on the horizon! -laughs at her own corny joke-**

**BTW: THANKS TO ALL OF THOSE WHO REVIEWED. IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME!**


	3. What have I Done?

**Disclaimer: All Characters © Disney.**

**Author's Note: I realize that this chapter is a lot shorter than my other ones, but I realized that if I kept going, it would get a bit redundant. There's a lot more action in this chapter than the others (I know, right? How can that be possible?), and there's a few more subplots added in. So, I hope I won't confuse you all too much. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle**

**Chapter Three: What have I done?**

**By: MJ

* * *

**

It had been a long, exhausting night for Miss Elizabeth Swann. She had remained awake the entire course of the night, wiping the sweat off of Will's forehead, giving him water (which he never kept down), cleaning up after his… messes… but most important of them all, she made sure he made it through the night.

It was early the next morning, and she was seated in a large chair next to Will's bedside, lightly caressing his prominent cheek and jaw bones with her finger tips, her hazel eyes glazed over in a dreamlike stare. She smiled faintly before she leaned down and kissed his forehead. His brows furrowed, and he thrashed slightly at the sudden touch. She sighed; wondering what he could possibly be thinking of that had him in such a state…

**

* * *

**

The smoke was around him again; suffocating him as he sat there, staring around in a dazed manner towards his surroundings. The smoke was slowly clearing again, and he could see directly below him.

_He was on that bloody platform again, except this time, he was facing away from Hades and that bloody alter. Confused, the young blacksmith-turned-pirate's eyes widened as a figure was slowly descending the stairs._

_Captain Jack Sparrow, in the flesh, was walking down the stairs._

_"JACK!" He shouted, smiling. "JACK—YOU'RE ALIVE!"_

_The pirate didn't turn to face him. Will tried to move, and found that he couldn't. It was as if he was trapped where he was… Trapped in this insane, little world. "JACK! JACK!"_

_He heard himself calling the man's name over and over, yet no one could hear him, it seemed. Finally, Jack was at the bottom, and someone was rushing towards him. Blonde curls flying everywhere, the person nearly attacked Jack as Will Turner watched his fiancée give Jack the largest hug he had ever witnessed. She had cradled her head in his neck already; and her shoulders were shaking. Although they were so far away, it was as if their voices were magnified a thousand times as their words rushed into his ears._

_"Jack… Jack, I thought I'd never see you again."_

_"Aye, luv—but 'ere I be!" He chuckled, awkwardly patting her on the back. "Wot—not going to give me as pleasant a welcome as ye gave me a goodbye?"_

_She was quiet, and it was killing Will inside. Does she see him watching her?_

_"Elizabeth—don't… don't waste your time on me… Go with him… You love him…" Will murmered, watching hopelessly._

_"I'll miss him…"_

_"Miss who, luv?" Jack questioned, lifting her head off of his shoulder. Will could finally see the tears streaming down her face._

_She was pointing vaguely up the staircase. It was then that Will noticed the blood on his hands._

_"Dear, sweet Jesus!" Will exclaimed, looking at his hands in horror. A knife was right beside him, and his heart stopped. "Who did I kill? What…"_

**

* * *

**

"WHAT HAVE I DONE!"

Elizabeth sighed; it had been a record hour and a half before Will's reoccurring dream came back to him. She started to brush the hair out of his face, gently rubbing his shoulders. "Will—Will, it's all right…"

"Oh… Oh my god… Please, no... I never wanted to kill you..."

And he fell back into a silent sleep. Elizabeth sighed, kissing his forehead one more time before she returned to her seat. She placed her head in her hands and sighed. A hand fell onto her shoulder and she jumped.

"Go sleep—I'll watch de lad…" She nodded numbly at Tia Dalma before she realized what was being said.

"I… I can't leave him now—not when he's like this… He seems to think he's done something wrong… Like's he's killed someone." Tia smiled, but remained silent. Finally, she said quietly:

"Jus' go."

Elizabeth hesitated, but allowed herself to pull away from her ailing beloved. She kissed his forehead one more time and walked from the room. She crossed the deck, and went below into the crews' quarters. There was a screened-off section of the quarters were she and Ana Maria took residence. She went behind the screen and collapsed into her hammock, where she cried herself into a light, troubled sleep.

**

* * *

**

Elizabeth spent her nights with Will, listening painfully to his conversations with another person; she listened to him rant and rave that he was dead, that she needed to move on, that she loved Jack, and that she didn't need to try and make him happy anymore. When that wasn't the nightmare he was suffering from, she had to endure his shouts of protests, that he hadn't really meant to kill them, and how sorry he was to her. It broke her heart, and she spent many of those nights silently sobbing as she cared for him. She spent her days confined in the crews' quarters, sleeping, or—if she felt up to it—doing work with the crew. All the while, her mind and heart was troubled, and the prophecy rang in her ears…

_The answers will come to you in your dreams…_

Does that mean that what Will was seeing was the future? Was he seeing how he had to get Jack back… or… or perhaps, he was seeing false things. Didn't Melusine tell him that _Not everything is always the way it seems_? She was pondering these things in her hammock, trying desperately to fall asleep, when she heard Ana Maria's call (it was her turn to watch Will while Elizabeth slept).

"Elizabeth! He's awake!"

Immediately gaining a boost of adrenaline-induced energy, Elizabeth nearly fell out of her hammock in her attempt to stand up and run towards the door. She righted herself, and slid out a bit more daintily. After successfully out of the hammock, she sprinted around the other sleeping crewmembers of the night watch, and was out the door in a moment. Luckily for Ana Maria, the Spanish lass had more sense than to stand in the way of Elizabeth and Will.

She ran across the deck, the crewmembers at work parting like the Red Sea for her as she made her way towards the Captain's cabin. She was grinning like a fool, her cheeks flushed from the sudden rush of excitement and adrenaline bursting through her. She opened the door and was in there as quick as she could, and paused, as she got right inside the door.

Tia Dalma was sitting in the chair Elizabeth occupied during Will's delirious, nightmare-bound nights, and she and Will (fully conscious and sitting up) were conversing in low voices. Elizabeth gave them but a moment's more privacy as she turned to shut the door with a gentle click. The sound brought both back to the present world, and Tia smiled at Elizabeth, turning her head to look from Will to Elizabeth, and finally back to Will.

"I'll leave da love-ahs to chat, aye?" She asked, and Elizabeth nodded politely while Will took this as an opportunity to lie back down. The mystic reached out and squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder when they passed, and the courtesy was not lost on the younger woman. She sat down in the chair next to Will's bedside, and reached out tentatively before she clasped his hand in hers.

He was closing his eyes and turning on his shoulder, his scarred, bare back to her. This new motion caused the light hold of his hand in hers to break, and she gasped lightly, before she placed the now-free hand on his shoulder. "Don't think you are going to avoid me by sleeping, William Turner. This isn't the island, where you can merely walk away from me."

"_I_ didn't walk away from _you_ at the island, Miss Swann. _You_ walked away from _me_. _I_ have nothing to hide, _you_ seem--"

"Don't accuse me of things you don't understand, Will," she whispered harshly, retracting her hand from its place on his shoulder. He sighed, and turned to look at her. His eyes scared her; for the first time since she had met William Turner, they were completely void of emotion.

"I understand a lot more than you give me credit for," he said back, in a voice that almost seemed… sad, sympathetic, maybe? She sighed, and looked down at her hands, folded together, and resting in her lap. She bit her lower lip to keep from crying again.

"Will… We need to talk."

"We're already talking, Miss Swann." She flinched at her proper name again.

"…I need to talk. You need to listen."

"I don't know if I can do that, Miss Swann, seems as though I need to talk to you, too."

"…Why… why don't you love me anymore?" She asked quietly, finally daring to look at him, her eyes searching his for some answer she knew she wouldn't find. Then, a flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes.

"I will never stop loving you, Miss Swann," he said firmly, determination and passion clearly in his stare. "Don't doubt it for a moment…"

"Then why--"

She was jerked forward as the ship lurched. A wave of water hit against the starboard side of the ship, causing it to rock in its position. Elizabeth landed next to Will's bed on the floor, and he had to quickly grab onto the sides to keep from falling out. They heard the crew rushing about on deck, and they sent each other puzzled stares. The ship lurched again, and suddenly there was a pounding on the door. Barbossa was in the room seconds later without the decency of waiting for a reply.

"Swann, we need you on deck," he grunted, using her surname had become sort of a habit of the pirating captain. Will looked as though he was about to get up, but Barbossa shook his head. "Ye jus' got over the fever boy, ye're too weak to figh'. Swann—let's go."

Will was about to protest when Elizabeth held a firm hand on his shoulder, "If you love me—truly, and sincerely love me—you'd wait here for me to return, so that you don't get yourself killed and I am forced to grow up an old spinner." She attempted to place a soft kiss to his lips, but he resisted. She merely placed it to his forehead, and left the room in haste, wondering what idiot dared attempt to go up against the Black Pearl.

She had made it to the top of the deck to see that the crew was surrendering—to what, Elizabeth didn't know. She turned, and finally saw it—

The Flying Dutchman was right before their eyes.

**

* * *

Times were changing; no longer could he merely walk the streets in his naval uniform; now people stopped and stared. Some of the unintelligent fools even had the gall to point, while others knew their place and merely muttered their uncertainties of the man's position. He rolled his pale blue eyes and sighed, his lips pursed. **

A bag swung from his hip, and when he paused to nod briefly at his fellow officers, it would beat rhythmically. A wicked grin spread across his face as he looked down upon it. _Fools_ he thought about his fellow comrades on that hunt for the heart of one Davy Jones. Why would they trust someone like him? He shook his head and started up again, his hands clasped behind his back. His boots made clunks against the cobblestone streets, and his wig blew behind in the soft sea breeze that blew throughout the small town of Port Royal.

To Admiral James Norrington, ironically both a former pirate and commodore, all was right in the world.

"Sir," a faint, hoarse voice called out of the crowd of peasants he was walking past. As per normal, James ignored the voice, lifting his nose to the person and continuing along. "Sir—please, I haven't had a thing to eat in what seems like ages." The man almost seemed educated to James, but educated or not, the man was still a peasant, and therefore worthless. He kept walking, when suddenly he felt someone grab onto his left leg. He almost fell over, but caught himself. He unsheathed his sword (the one from William Turner, returned to him upon his reinstating and promotion) and pointed it at the perpetrator, before he dropped it to the ground with a clatter upon seeing who it was.

The man was dressed in finery, but as fine as it was, it was dirty, torn, and shredded in places. It was probably the only clothes the man had left, and that only furthered James's problems with the man. His eyes widened painfully at the sight of the man's balding hair, and growing facial hair. He obviously was not the man James remembered.

"Governor Swann?"

"Commodore Norrington?"

The questions were asked simultaneously, both a bit surprised to see the other in such a state. James sighed as Weatherby Swann gave him the old once-over.

"I suppose I've mistreated you… Admiral. I would only be so stupid as to only think of you as an inferior Commodore. I'm sorry for troubling you," Weatherby said quickly, obviously embarrassed by the situation.

"No need, Governor--"

"Admiral, I do not have to tell you, for you should obviously be able to see that I could never be governor of Port Royal. Once more, I'm--"

"Apologize to me again, sir, and I'll have to-to," though James didn't know what exactly what he could do for Swann. He sighed and held out a hand to the confused ex-governor. "Get up." He finally said.

"What do you--?"

"Get up."

Weatherby grabbed onto James's hand and stood, finally seeing eye to eye with Norrington, who again sighed.

"Have you heard from Elizabeth?"

This time, it was Weatherby's turn to sigh as he shook his head 'no' in a sad manner. "Not since… not since she left with that Turner boy."

"William, sir, I think by now we should both be getting used to the 'boy' being an important part of her life. Important enough that both of us could call him by his first name, sir."

"How about I call him William, if you could call me Weatherby. I am not in a position to be earning such high regards from the likes of someone like you," he said, smiling. He then frowned, "Have you heard from them?"

"No. Not yet, I'm hoping it will be soon," the rhythmic pulsing of the item in the sack attached to his belt seemed to grown more noticeable. "Why don't I buy you a warm meal?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I'd like to think that I'm not as hopeless as to be taking charity from a former friend," Weatherby said nervously, ashamed of his position.

James smiled, and clapped a hand on the older man's back, "We're still friends, I would hope that something so trivial as funds would not break something as strong as what we had had… Before, well…" He broke it off, uncomfortable by the situation even more. He cleared his throat and continued, "And if you can't take charity from friends, then whom _could_ you take it from?" He asked, and the elder man smiled.

"Then I suppose I will make you purchase me a warm dinner, and a tall glass of ale, and you can fill in the blanks on… your situation," Weatherby smiled.

"Only if you promise to fill in the blanks on yours, then we have an agreement." Weatherby nodded, and he began to walk in step with James as they continued towards the inn-portion of the small fishing village. Staring at the shaken, old, raggedy man beside him, James could only think about Elizabeth, Will, and even that wretch Jack Sparrow. Finally, he had realized what his greed had caused—whom his thirst for power had hurt, and all he could keep thinking was:

_What have I done?_

**

* * *

She gasped involuntarily, her eyes immediately flying towards the door to the Captain's cabin, which she had just shut. She was between a rock and a hard place; should she run back in and tell Will what was finally catching up to them, which would make him get up, and harm himself (most likely), or should she let him be ignorant to what was going on outside of the walls of the captain's cabin. She sighed, and stepped away from the door. After all: **

Ignorance is bliss.

She grabbed her cutlass, but immediately Ana Maria was by her side. "No, we won't be fightin', Miss Elizabeth," for some reason both of the two women had been referring to her as either 'Miss Elizabeth' or 'Miss Swann'. She sighed, and let her hand fall limp. "Where is Turner?"

"In the cabin, where he will remain. He's still to weak to do this now," she said to Ana Maria, a girl she considered her friend. They sent each other identical comforting grins, before a voice boomed over top of their conversation.

"Gentlemen—oh, and I see Jack Sparrow has still managed to get a few gentle-_ladies_," Davey Jones chuckled, before he took a long draw from his pipe, held up by one of his many tentacles. He blew out the cloud of smoke, savoring the suspense he was instilling in the Black Pearl's crew. "We are only here to do one thing," his eyes were scanning the crowds from his position at the helm of the Dutchman. "And that is, to rid ye of two crew members." His eyes met Elizabeth's, and he grinned. He motioned to her with his claw, and two fish-headed crewmembers climbed across the gangplank on the Pearl, and grabbed a hold of her arms. She struggled, but they easily subdued her. She looked, quite horrorstruck, at the less than supportive crewmembers on the Pearl with her. She gave them all incredulous, almost betrayed looks as they dragged her back onto the Dutchman. She was still struggling against their grip, the only thought in her mind was—_Will is still over there—he needs me!_

Suddenly, a hand came flying through the air, and slapped her right across the face. She cried out from the sudden shock and pain, her hazel eyes widening, before she looked up. Davy Jones was standing right in front of her. "Quiet, Mrs--"

"It's still Swann," she said sadly, and he grinned.

"Ye broke 'is heart, didn't ye?" Jones asked rhetorically, because he didn't give her time to reply before he asked, "Where is the little lover-boy?" She bit her lip, realizing that if she wanted to keep Will safe, she'd have to put on a good show.

"He's dead," she said quietly.

"Speak up, lovely, or I'll get some of my men to _really_ make you scream," the members of the Dutchman crew had a good chortle over this. Tears began to fall as Elizabeth gnawed her cheek until it bled. The metallic taste only made her wail harder.

"He's dead, you bastard!"

"Don't think ye should be callin' me such names," Jones replied grimly. He turned to the Black Pearl crew. "Is this true? Is the son of William Turner truly dead!"

"Yes!" Came the reply from the Captain, and a somber rumble of "aye" erupted from the crew.

"Finally, then, the boy can be reunited with his father!" Jones laughed, and his crew joined in before he turned back with a menacing glare. "Get back to work—set sail for Port Royal!" He stressed the small fishing village's name, before he walked back up to Elizabeth and her respective "body guards". He smirked at the gentlemen… fish… things. "Take the young widow down to the brig, and make sure she's… comfortable."

"Aye!" They chorused, and they began to involuntarily drag Elizabeth (who was trying her hardest to never lose the Pearl from her eyesight) down below. Jones turned to his crew before he realized it was useless, and merely stalked to his quarters and slammed the door shut, all the while muttering…

"Damned Admiral Norrington… Damned Jack Sparrow…"

* * *

**Normally, I'd ask you all a bunch of questions that may be realitive to the plot, but I'm not very good at coming up with any that don't give anything away. I do have two that perhaps you all should think about while I type up the next chapter:**

**Who does Will think he's killed?  
Why would Jones say that, now that Will is 'dead', he is being reunited with his father?**

**...Also, I just have to know, though, were Swann and Norrington in character? Did you all like how I added that in there, or--? **

**Thanks, again, to those who reviewed! ♥♥**


	4. I Came Out Here for Love

**Disclaimer: Everything recognizable--© Disney. The plot and everything else unrecognizable is mine. **

**Notes: Alas! I had the worst time writing this chapter as I didn't want to reveal too much. A lot is revealed, I will admit, but I hope I'm still able to keep you guessing. I will give you this warning: there are a lot of plot twists in this tale. It's like a riddle, so even though you think you have it figured out now, it will most likely change within the next chapter or so. You've been warned!**

**

* * *

**

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**Chapter Four: I Came Out Here for Love**

**By: MJ

* * *

**

There. He had finally come on deck, limping so as to not put a lot of pressure on his bitten ankle, and looking as though he was going to pass out any moment. Much to Elizabeth's dismay, he was out on deck, watching the _Dutchman_ sail away. Did he even know where she was? Did he even care?

Obviously, he did, because he broke out running for the bow of the _Black Pearl_. He was ignoring what she figured had to be stabbing pains in his ankle, and he was ignoring the voices calling him back—telling him to get out of sight, or he'd be next.

Finally, she heard what she had been dying to hear—his voice filled with some other emotion other than hatred or betrayal. There was nothing but love in Will Turner's desperate call.

"Elizabeth!"

She knew that if she called back, it would garner attention to the fact that her fiancée was not dead, so she merely began to sob heavily as he called out to her again and again, the sound reaching her ears right before they took her down below.

"Elizabeth!"

One of the two people who were holding onto her arms tightened their grip. "Get quiet, missy, or else we'll have to…" She didn't bother paying attention to the threat, as she realized it was probably an empty one. _James Norrington had taken the heart, and probably has Davey Jones wrapped around one of his arrogant little fingers_, she reasoned to herself. _He'd stab Davey's heart if he knew I had been hurt_. She did quiet down, however, as one of them let go of her to unlock the cell door in the brig. They shoved her in there unceremoniously, and she sighed and bit her lip.

"Will," she whispered to herself, curling up into a ball and wrapping her arms around her legs. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. "Will…"

**

* * *

"ELIZABETH!" He yelled, with all the strength left in him as he watched the _Dutchman_ sail away. He fell against the rail, unable to take the sudden pressure to his wound, nor was he used to walking again, let alone walking while at sea. He held onto the rail for his life, his eyes wide as he watched the ship sail away. "Elizabeth… Elizabeth…"**"ELIZABETH!" He yelled, with all the strength left in him as he watched the sail away. He fell against the rail, unable to take the sudden pressure to his wound, nor was he used to walking again, let alone walking while at sea. He held onto the rail for his life, his eyes wide as he watched the ship sail away. "Elizabeth… Elizabeth…" 

"She's gone, Turner," he heard Barbossa growl.

"Why?"

"Because Davy Jones said she was needed…"

"No, not that," Will snapped, his head jerking up so as to meet his captain's eye. "Why did you let them take her?"

"Will," Ana Maria's voice was now present as the remaining two women on the ship came up to him. He snapped his head towards her, and she smiled, "We need t'get ye off tha' ankle."

"You're not answering my question. Why did you let them take her--? Do you know who he is--? Do you know what he's _done_?"

"To Jack--? Of course, lad, no one is tha' stupid on this ship, contrary t'yer beliefs."

For the first time, Will voiced his true feelings about said Captain Jack, "I could really give a damn about Jack… I'm asking if you knew what he did to _me?_ He knows who Elizabeth is, who knows who I am… What makes you think she's safe over there? _Why did you let them take her?_" He was getting angrier and bitter, betrayed.

The group remained quiet as Will seethed, before his legs gave out, and he was sitting there, arms crossed over his bare chest, glaring at them. Although it was reminiscent to a child pouting because his mother caught him stealing a cookie, it was still threatening in the sense that Will _was_ armed as he had grabbed a sword to fight when he came up on deck, and unlike a young child, Will knew how to wield a sword. His chocolate brown eyes were looking from one face to the next, betrayed, hurt, and bitter.

Finally, Tia Dalma was the one to break the ice. "Because dey wanted 'er, an' wha's t'say we shouldn't give 'im wha' 'e wanted?"

"…And I want her. Why take away something I want because you can? I'm not some toddler and you're taking away my sweets before supper—you gave away the love of my life to some… _monster_, and you think that what you did was _right_?" Will spat vehemently. He tried to stand, but couldn't, and this aggravated him even more. Ana Maria rushed to his side, and helped him to stand.

"Lean on me," she whispered. "C'mon—let's go back to--"

"William, don't ya see it in yer dreams?" Tia whispered suddenly, her eyes glazing over.

"What do you know of my dreams?" Will asked suspiciously, wondering how much he had revealed while delirious with his fever.

"_The answers will come to you in your dreams_, or did'ja fall asleep at tha' par'?" She said, laughing faintly as he stumbled slightly.

"I've had too many—what's to say which one holds the right answer?"

"They've all had the same outcome, though, 'aven't they? Wit' yer li'l girl walkin' int'a th' open arms o' a certain pirate captain…?" Will's eyes darted to the deck of the ship, feeling the crew stop in their tracks to watch him. Their eyes were burning holes into his flesh, and he was growing weaker by the moment.

"…Take-take… me…" Ana Maria didn't need further prodding on Will's part, and helped him back to the cabin of the _Black Pearl_, whilst still maintaining a seething glare in Tia Dalma's direction.

"Bit cruel, don't you think?"

The two remained glued to their spot, watching Will limp weakly back into the Captain's cabin, with Ana Maria soothing him with consoling words. The Spanish lass still was able to shoot the both of them a scathing glare. Tia Dalma laughed considerably, turning around to face the horizon whilst leaning against the rail.

"Ye're an awful person t'be talkin' 'bout wha' exac'ly be 'cruel'," she said back to Barbossa in good humor. He wasn't amused.

"An' I also know tha' mos' people don't like getting' their 'earts broken, let alone _stomped on_," he looked pointedly at her, and she looked away, her eyes glaring out into the horizon before she spat at him.

"D'ye wan' t' stay alive?" She asked suddenly, looking back at him with a determined hint to her black eyes. He raised a brow in a confused manner, before he realized what she meant.

"I wasn't dead when ye plucked me ou' o' tha'… tha' _hell_."

"Tha' be wha' th' Catholics call purgatory… I like t'call it payin' back th' debt ye wreaked on prop'ah society," she said coolly, still looking at him.

"An' ye would know an' awful lot about tha', I'm sure--"

"Ye can keep yer sarcasm t'yeself if'n ye don't want t' have t' spend the rest o' eternity swabbin' deck after deck in a place too hot fer it t'be normal," she threatened. He quieted quickly, still sending her an awful glare. "Jus' bring me back me cap'n, an' I'll keep ye alive s'long tha' ye'll be beggin' me t'kill ye all over again…"

"Fair enough," he grunted as she walked away, her various decorations chiming as she made her way towards the captain's cabin.

* * *

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life fer me…"

"'Ey! You! Shaddup an' keep walkin'!"

"If'n I must be here _already_ fer the rest o' eternity, me thinks I don' have t'listen to the likes of ye," the singing man spat back at his overseer, the demon-like man bringing his whip to the man's back right after he finished. The man only flinched, nothing left his mouth until, "After all, ye can't exactly make this worse."

He was walking in a straight line, a man before him, and a man behind him, on their way to somewhere else. He didn't figure out where, just yet, just that he really wasn't looking forward to getting there. Several guards—all of them looking less human than the last, were accompanying them. Finally, the man in front of him stopped, and he groaned.

"Damn. I was jus' gettin' used t'th' walkin'."

"Shaddup!" Another whack to his back. He sighed, biting his cheek as the people in front of him started climbing some weird-looking steps. Were those—human _skulls_? Finally, it was his turn.

He climbed the steps, not quite sure where, exactly, he was going, as a thick fog surrounded him. He couldn't see how many steps he had gone, because the fog seemed to be following him up. He sighed and turned back around. He realized he was getting closer to the top when he started to hear voices.

"What do you plea to all of these offenses?"

"I'm innocen'—I swear it!"

"And why should I believe you—a man hanged for piracy?"

"Perhaps because people can be good and a pirate at the same time?"

"Away with you—to the work fields!"

And with a loud crack, it all fell silent. The man grimaced, wondering what his fate would be, when the fog was starting to clear. A large platform was in his vision, on top of it an altar and a throne, and upon that throne was the man he had avoided his entire life.

He had come face to face with Hades.

"Jack Sparrow!" A demon-guard called from his position next to Hades. Jack rolled his chocolate brown eyes, glaring at them both.

"It's _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, mates."

* * *

"Is it true?"

"Does it matter?" Will spat as he sat in a chair. He refused to lie down, and Ana Maria wasn't about to push his nerves. It was obvious that Tia Dalma's words had had a horrible effect on Will; he looked as though he was about to be sick, and at the same time, he was able to look angry and betrayed. She was convinced that, had she not been there, he would've been crying. She leaned against the door and sighed, watching him pick up his father's knife and gently run his thumb across the blade. He was avoiding it, she knew, and she turned to leave when he finally spoke. "In my dreams… nightmares, more like it," he said, looking up at her, hurt prominent in his eyes, "she runs right into his open arms. Every time. And her words are always the same: 'I'll miss him'." He sighed and turned around to look out the window and out to the water. "I didn't understand what she meant, until… more recently." Ana Maria was restraining herself tremendously by not urging him to continue. After another long pause, he looked back at her. "Someone has to die."

"What do you mean?"

"For Jack to come back someone has to die—for anyone to come back from the dead, someone has to die." He watched her face change from shock, to anxiety as she finally asked the obvious question.

"Who?"

"I don't know yet," he said, sighing. "In… in some of my dreams, I've killed her. I've raised this very knife and pierced her heart," his voice was quivering, and he shivered from a sudden chill. "In those dreams, they're both dead… And someone else comes back—his face is a blur, so I haven't quite figured out who he is…"

"And in others?"

"In others, it's Tia… It's Barbossa… It's you, it's me."

"You?"

"I kill myself. I kill myself over some… some branch-like thing. It looks like… like a body part… Like an old, rotten leg…" Will shuddered. "…I stab myself with my father's blade."

"Which one do you think is right?" She asked hesitantly, after a bit of a pause. Will glanced at her before he turned away, avoiding her gaze as the tears finally began to leak.

"If Jack and Elizabeth are truly meant to be together," he said, not noticing that her back stiffened, nor that her eyes turned furious in anger. He looked down, the salty tears dripping off of his long nose, making a puddle on the ground, "Then I think I'd rather kill myself."

* * *

"We brough' 'er, jus' like ye asked. Cap'n wants t'know if'n ye need anymore favors," one of Elizabeth's captors grunted to James Norrington as they pushed Elizabeth to the ground. It had been three days since they had taken her off of the _Black Pearl_. Three days she had spent in the brig, wondering where she was going—what was going to become of her, and what, ultimately, had happened to Will. She remained seated on the ground, ashamed.

"What of the other? Where's William Turner?"

"Dead," the second captor grunted, shifting his weight from his peg leg to his human leg. His face was covered in barnacles, and it was truly making James gag. He glanced down nervously at Elizabeth.

"Is this true, Elizabeth?" She sniffed, almost inaudibly. He sighed, and looked up at them. "Then no, there's nothing more I require of Jones yet. Get out of here." Without any more prodding, they left. James knelt down before Elizabeth; he reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he said, sincerely. He, himself, was in pain just seeing her so distraught. She flinched away from his touch, and moved away. He sighed. "Elizabeth, I'm here to help you, I'm--"

"Haven't been helpful so far, have you?" She spat, finally looking up to him. "Had you not taken that heart… Had you just… just let Jack Sparrow _have it_… we wouldn't be in this mess… Will-Will would still--" Although she had been about to say 'love me', she remembered that Will was supposed to be dead. Gone forever—well, it was close enough to the truth. Her eyes looked lost and helpless as she glared at him, "Will would still be alive."

"How… how did he die?" But she turned her back to him, and he sighed. "Your father wants to see you."

_Remain hard, Elizabeth—he probably wants to marry me off to the finest of gentlemen…Now that Will is out of the way…_

"I'll have one of your men escort me to the estate," she sniffed, standing and brushing the dirt off of her pants.

"There is no estate, Elizabeth," James attempted, but she wouldn't hear it. "Your father's been staying with me since… since," he chewed on the inside of his lip, "since Beckett took away your father's right as Governor."

She whirled around to face him, gaping at him as he sighed and stood. He clasped his hands behind his back and watched her, quizzically for another moment. "He's right up--"

"You bastard!" She whispered, moving towards him suddenly. James looked alarmed for but a moment before he regained his composure. "Don't you see what you and that man have done? All of your greed for power—don't you know who you've hurt—does that even matter to you?" She asked, slightly hysterical. She raised a hand and slapped him soundly on the cheek.

"Elizabeth, that was quite uncalled for."

She glanced up the staircase to see her father, dressed in simpleton's clothing—a pair of brown breeches and a shirt with his buckled shoes being the only piece of clothing that showed the man had some wealth. Elizabeth sent an apologetic stare to her father, before she glared at James one more time before running up to his open arms. "Father," she whispered, as he broke the embrace to get a good look at her.

"Darling—where's William?"

That's when she began to cry again, sobs racking her small body as she collapsed in his arms. "He's dead, Father."

"Oh, Elizabeth," he whispered, hugging her tighter. "I'm so sorry."

That only made her cry more; finally, when her father seemed to care—almost _agree_ with the betrothal… Will was "dead", and it was all too late.

**

* * *

"Will! We've reached Port Royal… Just as far as we can go without… well," Ana Maria called as she knocked on the door to Will's cabin. He sighed as he pulled on his shirt.**

"I'm coming!"

"You are staying!" Tia Dalma's voice was heard from the other side of the door. Will glowered.

"You can't make me—I must find Elizabeth," Will was determined as he grabbed the crutch Ana Maria had made to aid in his walking for a while. He made his way quickly to the door and opened it. "I must." He repeated, staring down at the island woman. She kicked the crutch out from underneath him, causing him to stumble a bit, but not fall.

"Ye'll slow us down," she muttered darkly. He glared as he righted himself.

"You were already slow to begin with. _I'm going_."

They all soon realized there was no rationalizing with Will, so it was no surprise to any when he made his way into the long boat, and helped Barbossa row to shore. He wouldn't glance at Tia Dalma, nor would she glance at him. In his mind, her words kept repeating themselves:

_With your little girl running into the open arms of a certain pirate captain._

_Your little girl._

_Open arms._

_Jack Sparrow._

He sighed, watching Port Royal grow larger and larger. They came a bit to the side of the port, away from the docks—from the guards, from the boats, from the navy, from Beckett. Ana Maria helped Will out of the boat, and they walked up the beach to find Tia Dalma wrapping her hair in a scarf, her clothing a bit more… gypsy like. "Where are you going?" Will asked as they congregated again towards the little forest behind Port Royal's homes. She grinned.

"I'm goin' ter get Elizabeth back—and ye really shouldn't have come."

"Why not?"

"Because ye can't go—if'n I got me facts straight, Elizabeth told Jones ye were dead. Tha' means she mos' likely tol' Norry ye were dead, so they wouldn't go after ye," she reasoned, and Barbossa chuckled.

"Ye came out here fer nothing boy," he chortled, slapping Will's shoulder before he and Ana Maria (who had sent him a sympathetic glance) made their way towards the town, to pick up supplies and gather information. Will sighed, as he walked into the woods. He walked a bit, making sure he was hidden from view, before he muttered darkly.

"I came out here for love."

* * *

**Ready--one, two, three--AWWW!!**

**Finally, Will realizes how he truly feels about Elizabeth, but--**

**Is Tia Dalma correct with her assumptions that Jack and Elizabeth are meant to be together? Or does she have a hidden agenda?  
What will happen to Will when Norry discovers he's alive?  
What's going to happen to Captain Jack Sparrow--(did you all enjoy his cameo appearance)?  
Who is Will going to kill to bring Jack back?--it could be anyone! Any predictions?**

**Thanks to all those who have reviewed--next chapter will, hopefully, be up within the next two weeks!**


	5. I wasn't Planning on Sleeping

**Disclaimer: I only own what isn't recognizeable. Everything else is © Disney.**

**Notes: I'm going to keep my "I told you so"s until the end. That's all I have to say. ****

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**

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**Chapter Five: I wasn't Planning on Sleeping**

**By: MJ

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**

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking scotch, Admiral?"

"If you've come here to tease me, Miss Swann," Admiral Norrington replied to Elizabeth's sarcastic question with a glare as he poured himself a decent serving of the alcohol, "then you could at least wait until I'm just a bit tipsy." He smiled firmly at her, moving from the bar to the window. It was pouring down rain outside on the morning after Elizabeth had arrived at his mansion. Already, it was hard enough to deal with Beckett's pressuring; now he was hiding a fugitive.

"That takes the fun out of it for me," she said saucily. He rolled his eyes and turned away from her. She moved towards the bar, and grabbed the bottle. She pulled a cup from the cabinet, and poured herself her own decent sized serving of the alcohol. She sipped it gingerly, and leaned against the grand oak bar, looking at him for a moment. "You're a broken man."

"You're a broken woman," he replied back looking at her. "Who's drinking my scotch?" He looked at her for a moment. "I suppose I'm in no position to tell you not to drink it?" He asked lightly, hoping it would be enough. It wasn't, and he came to realize this as she took another sip; he wondered if she had done it out of spite. He grimaced, leaning against the wall to look at her. "Best way to mend a broken heart?"

"Mine was trampled on, thank you, and it's all your bloody fault," she raised her glass in a toast, mocking him soundly. He glowered.

"Then it'd only be fair to say that it's all your bloody fault that my heart was trampled on," he raised his glass to her in a toast, and she seemed affected by his words. She glanced down at her glass, a finger tracing the rim. She bit her lip, and sighed.

"…I… I really don't know what you want me to say, James. I feel that it may have broken your heart more if I agreed and spent the rest of my life with you, when I'd have only been thinking about another man. It's why I believe I won't marry at all, especially now that Will," she was about to admit, once again, that Will didn't love her, not that he wasn't dead, but she kept out of it. She decided to end the sentence there for a bit of dramatic effect.

"How did he die?"

She gripped the glass a bit harder, her mind full of things to say, wondering how gruesome she could go and still make it believable. She almost laughed; in two years she had battled undead pirates, Davey Jones, and the foulest creature of them all, the Kraken. Obviously the unbelievable is still believable. She bit her lip and looked away. "I… I don't want to talk about it, all right?" He nodded his head, and took a sip, glancing back out the window. He squinted and sighed. "What is it?"

"We have unexpected company. Go on, upstairs!" He ushered her out and placed both of their empty glasses back in the cabinet, before he swiftly went to the lower lobby of his house. Elizabeth wasn't even halfway up the stairs, "Go! Or do you _want_ to get caught?" She ran the rest of the way, and once upstairs, she only turned back to glower at him before she disappeared down the hall. There was frantic knocking at the door, and James sighed. "Here we go," he whispered, almost reassuringly to himself, as he shooed away his maid (who was about to get the door) before he answered it himself.

"Interested in knowin' o' de future, Admiral?" A silky voice called, a brown hand extended, holding onto a fogging crystal ball. James rolled his eyes, about to shut the door, when the woman continued, "'Ow about the som'tink on a certain William Turner?"

"We already know of his death, thank you, please—just go!"

"Wha' if'n I tol' ye he be alive?"

"I'd say you're insane," James said, opening the door fully. He glanced at the island woman, whose dreadlocks were hanging low from the heavy downpour, and her clothes were clinging to her skeletal frame. "But I'm sure there's some sort of price I have to pay to get the information, correct?"

"All in good time, James, all in good time," he would've been more taken aback that she knew his name, if he weren't as high up in the social status as he was. Everyone in Port Royal knew about him and his past; he wasn't at all surprised that it even circled around to the gypsies. He sighed, and held out a hand to usher her in.

"Come, I'll make some tea."

"I dun' want yer tea, I wan' ye t'listen ter wha' I got t'say!" She huffed, pushing the crystal ball upwards, so that it met his eyes. "Ye be holdin' someone 'ere 'oo shouldn't be, don't'cha?" She said, sniffing the air suddenly, as if she could smell Elizabeth's presence. "Why don' ye tell me about her?"

"Did Beckett send you?"

"How da 'ell be Beckett! I come 'ere because 'e sent me!"

"Who sent you?" James asked, ushering the woman into the parlor, where he promptly took his glass back out to pour himself another generous serving of the alcohol. The woman grinned at him, revealing blackened teeth.

"William Turner sent me," she said, walking over to the window, placing a hand on it to trace the raindrops that were sliding down the glass. "'E sent me t'tell ye yer a fool, and tha' 'e wants 'is Eliz'beth back," she said, turning back towards James.

"How am I supposed to believe you--? Why wouldn't he come here himself?"

"And risk I' captured an' 'ung because ye betrayed 'im? Unlikely, James," the woman chuckled. James gripped his glass harder and took another sip.

"Who the hell are you?"

"The name is Tia Dalma, not tha' it be any of yer concern," she snapped, her hands flying to her hips. "Where are ye hiding the woman? C'mon, now, I jest want to take 'er back t' 'er lover!"

"What's in it for you?" James asked suddenly, after a pause. She looked shocked for about a minute before she was able to recover.

"I dun' know wha' ye be talkin' 'bout."

"Oh, come _on_! What kind of idiot do you take me for, Miss Dalma? You're obviously a gypsy, and therefore you are highly susceptible to being forced into work! I'm surprised some of the lesser men in this town haven't _already_ stolen you off to go to the auction block! Why would you risk your life and your freedom just to return two lovers to each other?" Norrington asked, staring at her for a moment, a smile dawning on his features. "Is Turner paying you--? What has he done to Elizabeth--?"

"'E's done not'ing, and I be here on me own accord, aye? If anyt'ing, I am only 'ere to get da two o' dem t'stop dere childish fightin' an' make peace, aye? Besides, yer sweet Eliz'beth 'as done much more t' William den William could evah do t'er, aye?" Tia Dalma said, moving closer to Norrington, who was now frowning by this latest revelation. "Wit'out da girl, William be a wreck. I need 'im t'be strong so dat we can rescue Cap'n Jack, aye? So, please, stop messin' wit' me 'ead an' bring me da girl!"

"Will is a wreck?" Elizabeth said, suddenly, from the doorway. Norrington and Tia both turned to stare at her. She sniffed, her arms folded over her chest, wrinkling the fabric of the gown Norrington requested that she wear. She looked down at her feet and then up at Tia Dalma, who smiled.

"Aye. Ye didn't 'elp da situation by bein' kidnapped. 'E's waitin' fer ya down at de docks t'tell ye himself," Tia said, frowning.

"Tell me what?"

"I'm sure that it's because he loves you," James interjected, noticing something hit Tia's eyes just as the island woman was about to answer. "And it's obvious you still love him. Did you tell me he died to keep me from going after him?" At Elizabeth's nod, he sighed. "I was going to try and help you both. I suppose I still can—is your father still asleep?"

"Yes, but please don't wake him. I'm afraid he has fallen ill," Elizabeth said quietly, worry in her eyes. James nodded.

"Grab a coat—we're going down to meet William."

"We?"

James sighed, looking about his large parlor for a moment, lost in thought. "Elizabeth, I am a broken man… I thought that what I really, _truly_ wanted was to be a military man of the highest status; to be admired by young and old alike—to be a respectable man in a respectable trade," he said, taking a quick sip of his scotch. "…And I was happy when I came back and was appointed Admiral; I would've been a fool not to be, but… but when I met your father on the streets—a man I had held in my _highest_ esteems, it hit me…" He sighed, looking back at her. "My dreams caused others to be unhappy. Others who I have always loved… And there isn't enough power, money, fame—there is nothing in the world that could make me continue to hurt those that I love."

"What are you saying, James?" Elizabeth asked quietly, her eyes carefully searching his as Tia Dalma made a rather odd noise under her breath.

"I'm saying… that I wish to join the Black Pearl's crew. After all, I got you all into this predicament; I might as well help you all get out."

* * *

"Turner! We be headin' back t'th' ship! Ye should come wit' us!" Barbossa yelled over the storm, but Will was adamant in his reply of,  
"No! I will wait and make sure Elizabeth is all right before I do anything!" Will said. He was shivering, even under his leather jacket, but he refused to move from his spot amongst the trees. Ana Maria offered him a warm smile, but she climbed back into one of the long boats (along with Pintel and Rigetti, who had come to shore shortly after they had to help carry everything along), and soon they were making it back to the ominous ship. 

Will sighed and bit his lip, his chocolate eyes looking towards the town for any sign of Tia Dalma, Norrington, and—most importantly—his Elizabeth. He leaned against one of the large palm trees before he slid down it, taking a seat in the wet sand. "C'mon," he whispered, his eyes closing ever so slightly. He was physically and mentally exhausted; he had stayed up all night pondering over how he should react when reunited with Elizabeth. Should he take Melusine's advice and bury the hatchet with Elizabeth, or was Tia Dalma right--? …Did Elizabeth really love Jack, and was Will so selfish that he would deprive her of being truly happy just to ease his breaking heart? He sighed and closed his eyes, drifting off into a light sleep, the rain around him like a soft lullaby.

* * *

"So… Finally, Captain Jack Sparrow must face his fate!" Hades chuckled as two demon guards brought Jack forward, unwillingly. Jack grinned. 

"Suppose so, well, it was a pleasure meetin' ye, be sure, but… about this whole… 'deal with Jones' bit… Ye see—"

"Ah… Yes, it says it right here in rather fine print!" Hades said, squinting. Jack grimaced, having hoped to talk his way out of it, but obviously, he was mistaken. Jack sighed, and rolled his eyes, muttering to the demon on his left,

"Bit o' a 'ard-ass, ain't 'e?" The demon merely growled, and Jack too it as his cue to be quiet, but not before muttering to the demon on his right, "Wha's up 'is arse?"

"Enough!" Hades shouted, lifting a hand. Immediately, Jack fell quiet, staring at the man's hooves for feet with interest. "It says here you owe a hundred years before the mast to Davy Jones."

"Aye. Unfortunately."

"Regretting our decision, are we?" Hades chuckled, opening Jack's scroll a bit more. "Oh, and better yet! It says here that ye're in love!"

"Wha'? A piece o' paper can tell ye tha'?" Jack asked; he was about to take a step forward when an invisible force came about him and threw him back. He glared at the demon on his left, who was chuckling.

"…With yourself," Hades grunted, shifting in his chair. "And here I was getting excited over _nothing_. Well, what are we to do with you?"

"Second chance?" Jack shrugged, flashing his golden teeth. At that, Hades bellowed his laughter, not afraid to hide his amusement.

"Seems you've had a lot of second chances, Jack Sparrow, not this time. Although, technically, I am inclined to send you back on your merry way to Jones, I personally can't stand the urchin," Hades grunted, growling under his breath. Flames shot, literally, out of his nostrils as he spoke, and Jack took an involuntary step back. "Keeps all the best criminals for himself! I rarely ever get the chance to torture anyone these days… A hundred years on a haunted ship, and a shark head for your face, and they all going flying to Jones… Makes me sick," Hades spat, and his spit made it steam on the platform. Jack took another step backwards. "So… I'm keeping you here until your debt is paid… or," he read closer to the scroll once again, "Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann get here in enough time."

"Will an' Liz? Wot do they got ter do with this? …Besides _everything_," Jack added, after thinking about who put him in this situation.

"Turns out that they have just visited with my brother, Poseidon…"

"No…"

"Yes," Hades rolled his eyes. "And they're going to fulfill the prophecy. Well, Jack—"

"Captain," Jack grunted. Hades rolled his bright red eyes one more time before he snapped his fingers and Jack was gone. To the empty fog around him, he grinned and said:

"Well, Captain Jack, as you like to say—this is about to get interesting."

* * *

"There's no one here!" 

"Dey left da boat, dat be all dat matters, aye?" Tia Dalma grunted to Elizabeth's frustrated sigh. The island woman was slowly pushing the young woman towards the long boat that was dangerously close to floating away.

"You told me Will was here! You told me he was waiting for me!"

"He must've gotten tired o' bein' in da rain! 'E was out 'ere all night!"

"Why didn't you bring him with you—he's still so weak! He could've gotten a cold, or… or the flu, or—or!"

"Or, Elizabeth, I'm just fine."

She turned to see him, leaning against a palm tree with an amused smile on his lips. She looked at him curiously—hadn't he been so angry and hostile with her just days ago? Hadn't he told her, quite frankly, that they couldn't make it work—and he was smiling? Did he find it funny to play with her heart like this?

His shirt was sticking to his body underneath his black leather jacket. His hair had fallen out of the tie he usually held it up in, and his adorable curls were dripping with the warm, Caribbean rain. He looked exhausted and slightly sick, but at the same time he was able to look so handsome and adorable, that she was able to forget about their confrontations. By the way he was hobbling quickly over to her, it seemed as if he had to. He outstretched his arms, and she fell into place, holding him tightly and crying, ever so softly, into his shoulder. He was resting his head on top of hers, and she could've sworn he was crying too.

"It's all right, Elizabeth," he said, lifting his head. He reached a hand and gently picked up her chin with two fingers so that her eyes were gazing into his. She began to cry harder and the love and forgiveness he held so passionately in his chocolate brown eyes. He wiped her tears away and kissed her forehead. "It's all right—I forgive you. I can forgive you, Elizabeth… I can forgive you because I love you, and I have never stopped."

"Oh, Will!" She cried, pulling away just enough to kiss him, firmly, on the lips. They held the tight embrace, taking in each other's close presence for a moment; savoring the idea of them so close together. The weeks they spent apart angry and bitter just washed away in that one moment when their lips joined together.

"Ahem."

They broke away (with heated blushes that would not go away, even in the rain) to see a very amused Admiral and a slightly disgusted Tia Dalma. Will was grinning like an idiot, and Elizabeth looked slightly embarrassed and excited at the same time. The rain couldn't wash away their smiles, and that made Norrington grin larger.

"Not going to take us away now, are you?" Will asked the elder man quietly. Norrington chuckled.

"Actually, Turner, I was hoping you could take me away from here. I think Beckett has enough lap dogs, I doubt he'll miss me," Norrington chuckled, pulling at the sack attached to his military belt. He handed it over to Will, "or Davy Jones."

* * *

"Mister Mercer, could you fetch for me James Norrington? I would like to know why it is taking so damn long to bring me Swann and Turner!" Cutler Beckett bellowed slightly, slamming his fist on his desk as he spoke to his henchman. Mercer rolled his eyes, taking out his dagger and polishing it lightly with his handkerchief. 

"I would, sir, if the newest Admiral to the royal fleet hadn't already left with both Swann and Turner on the Black Pearl."

"Black Pearl?" Beckett asked uneasily, looking off towards the sea, as if expecting to see the ship there. He took an anxious sip of his whiskey, and then clenched the crystal glass in his grip, looking back to Mercer who was chuckling softly.

"Yes, the very one," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his already monotone voice.

"…Did he… Damn it, did he take the heart with him?"

"No, no…"

"Oh, thank God! Well… I'll just have to go and—"

"He left it in the care of William Turner."

Nothing came from Beckett's mouth, but the shattered crystal echoed against the office walls.

* * *

"Will, let's go—you and James can discuss the plan of action later—you are soaking wet, and I don't want you getting the flu!" Elizabeth fussed, pulling her fiancée away from James Norrington and towards the Captain's cabin. Will sighed and Norrington grinned cheekily, moving towards Barbossa, who was glaring at him vehemently. 

"…I suppose I am to talk to you about joining the crew."

"How," Barbossa paused, looking James up and down, "am I supposed to know that you aren't just here…" he met James eye for a moment, and sent him a warning stare, "to get information."

"I gave Turner the heart of Jones, and that alone has lost me my position as Admiral. I have no power over anything anymore," James said slowly, and Barbossa grinned.

"Now we can agree on 8omething'. Yer t'help, or we send ye on yer merry li'l way at th' nearest deserted island," Barbossa chuckled, "an' ye ain't no damned Jack Sparrow, so I doubt ye'd be able to get ou' o' dat, understand?"

James grinned, "Perfectly.

* * *

"Will, please, just--!" 

"Elizabeth, honestly—I'll live, all right? I'm already ten times better now that I am with you again," he pulled her towards him again, embracing her in a hug which kept her from fussing over his wet clothes. He kissed the top of her wet head, and she pulled him closer. "…I thought they were going to kill you—I thought—" He couldn't finish. She pulled back and kissed his lips.

"Once again, Mister Turner," she said playfully, kissing him again, "you underestimate me. And that is no one's fault but your own."

"That sounds… familiar," Will grinned, and Elizabeth giggled insanely as he kissed her lips again. "C'mon…we're both wet, tired, and uncomfortable… And I'm sure we're going to have to deal with Jones bright and early, if not within the next few hours." Elizabeth sighed, pulling completely away from him. "So how about some sleep?"

"To be quite honest, William," Elizabeth said silkily, leaning up against him again to rub her cheek against his, giggling as his stubble tickled her sensitive skin. Her lips were only a few breaths away from his ear, "I wasn't planning on sleeping."

* * *

"Oi, Henry! A new arrival from the platform of _doom_!" A man chuckled, helping up the latest arrival from hell; the poor man had landed flat on his face upon his snap appearance. Jack looked up at the man who was helping him to his feet, and his jaw dropped. The other man dropped his grip on Jack's arm, and he immediately began sinking in the sand that surrounded them. "Jack Sparrow?" He called, pulling the man up again. Jack's eyes held a certain twinkle that had been missing for a while now. 

"Bootstrap Bill Turner… that's in'tresting."

* * *

**...I told you so. I TOLD you it was a Will/Liz story.**

**Bonus points for anyone who can tell me who Henry was. hintHe's a pirate!Hint**

**Thanks for sticking it out with me--I fianlly was able to give you a dose of pure Will/Liz fluff!  
**

**What to Expect Next Chapter:  
Will and Elizabeth; the morning after.  
James; how he is adapting to his new life.  
Jones; Will calls Jones to him through the heart.  
Barbossa and Tia; a hitch in the plans?  
****The Prophecy; a large section will be revealed. hintLook at the title of the first chapterhint  
Jack and Bootstrap; Bootstrap reveals to Jack as to why he is in hell.**

**Thanks for the reviews!  
♥ **


	6. He was Dead to Me

**Disclaimer: Everything recognizeable © Disney. Everything else is mine.

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_The much awaited morning after; but did the night before complicate things? Enjoy!_

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**Chapter Six: He was Dead to Me**

**By: MJ

* * *

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The sun began to slowly stream into the cabin through the large windows in the back of the cabin. The red velvet drapes were pulled aside, revealing the light blue Caribbean waters. The delicate light slowly streamed in, playing ever so lightly on her face as she slowly came back to the conscious world. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She yawned and stretched and looked down at herself. Her cheeks stained red as she realized just how bare she was, and she picked up the sheets to wrap them around her. She looked down at her fiancée, still fast asleep with the most angelic look plastered onto his features. She smiled and laid back down in the bed, moving closer to him. She wrapped an arm around his waist and intertwined her legs with his, staring into his face.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek; his stubble tickled her soft lips and she giggled, causing him to stir. A hand went to his face and she cupped his cheek just as his chocolate brown eyes opened to meet her expectant ones. She was smiling, and that caused him to smile as he muttered, "'Mornin'."

She kissed his lips and giggled, "_Good_ morning." She stressed, and he chuckled.

"After a _great_ night," this brought a blush to both patrons' cheeks, but it was all in good fun as they were both chuckling. She kissed him again, and he kissed her back as soon as she had pulled away. It was just too much for either of them to handle; to get together and be so close was very special for both of them.

Frantic knocking on the door, however, interrupted their love fest:

"Turner! Swann! It's Jones!"

* * *

"So… Bootstrap," Jack said as they began walking in the sinking sand, Jack following Bill's footsteps carefully, as the older man seemed to not be sinking. "Where th' 'ell am I?" 

"Precisely… this is your own form of hell, Jack," Bill laughed, and Jack frowned.

"Then why are ye 'ere?"

"I'm 'ere t'make ye feel guilty, perhaps," Bill shrugged. "Ye know… The fact that I was killed sticking up for you. The fact that you sent my son to Jones for leverage. Perhaps even the fact that my son is _still_ risking his life to save yours, and you wouldn't even help him save his fiancée. Because, if you had, he'd be alive, and so would I." Bill finished, turning to look at Jack, who looked positively flabbergasted. "But I dunno, Jack. Really."

"Well… Why's Henry Morgan here?"

"Because his personal 'ell is spendin' eternity wif ye," Bill chuckled as Jack glowered.

"…What's yer personal 'ell, if ye're in mine?" Jack asked curiously. Bill sighed.

"I was already in hell when I was separated from my boy. It doesn't matter where I am—I'll always feel guilty… Always."

* * *

"Norrington—joined the likes of pirates, have we?" Jones called across from his position at the helm of the Dutchman. Norrington rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "What d'ye want?" 

"It's no longer _about_ what I want," Norrington replied, a sneer on his face. Davy Jones looked confused.

"Then 'oo 'as me 'eart?" Jones asked, searching the crew. Suddenly, the doors flew open to the Captain's cabin, and out came Elizabeth Swann and William Turner, hand in hand, looking rather determined. Jones turned towards them (as did everyone else), and his jaw dropped. "Turner?"

The telltale sack was, indeed, hanging off of William Turner's belt loop. Jones groaned, which made Norrington grin. James folded his arms over his chest and leaned up against the rail, trying to get in good position to see what he knew was going to be immensely entertaining.

"I thought ye tol' me 'e was dead, lass!" He called to Elizabeth, who sighed.

"He was dead to me!" Will sent her a look, and she shrugged. "And I was dead to you, so don't even attempt to deny it. You couldn't even _look _at me." He sighed and nodded; she was right.

"Jones!" Will called, dropping his grip on Elizabeth's hand. She quickly brought it to her chest, a faint smile on her lips. "We have negotiations to discuss!"

Jones growled, moving away from the helm and towards the main deck so that he and Will could talk. "Aye, Turner, wha' be yer wishes?"

"I want you to protect the Pearl—take down any Naval ship that threatens us--"

"Will! What if… what if my father, Beckett—those are _people_, Will!" Elizabeth called out, and Will shut his eyes and opened them.

"People who have ruined our _lives_, Elizabeth!"

"Will… please, just--"

"Fine… Fine, Jones, just… protect the Pearl. If a threatening Naval ship _attacks..._ _then_ take it down."

"Feelin' a bit whipped, are ye, William?" Jones called, grinning. His crew chortled. Will pulled out his knife and held it threateningly to the heart.

"Don't tempt me," he said simply, before sending Elizabeth a warning stare. They had gone over it a million times once, and a million times again. If they wanted to finish this all quickly and get on with their lives, they needed full protection against the Royal Navy.

"Fine," Jones grunted, obviously irritated. "Anythin' else?"

"My father is no longer a part of your crew. He's to be given his life back—and he's coming on the Pearl with us," Will said, finally, it bursting out of him as he seemed overjoyed at the idea. Jones laughed maniacally. "It's not funny."

"Yer father's dead, son," Jones said, the mercy leaving his voice. It was now cruel again, and it made Will's blood turn cold. "We killed 'im after we realized someone stole me 'eart. It is, after all, yer father's fault. 'E 'elped ye get the key… an', well, I guess tha' makes it yer fault as well… Ye killed yer own fath--"

"Shut up!" Will interjected hysterically, gripping the rails harshly as he heard Jones's crew begin to chuckle again. "Just shut up!" He ran a hand through his hair and then gripped it harshly. He heard Elizabeth come up to him, and then felt her place a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, and glowered at Jones. "Then that's it. Get out of here… And don't forget what you promised. A single ship, and I stab your heart—just like you deserve…"

He walked away, leaving everyone slightly speechless. Jones, however, not one to take threats lightly, quickly disappeared beneath the surface. Elizabeth watched the ship disappear, slightly stung. She didn't know how to handle it; she had never been in Will's position before. She knew he must feel as though he had just killed his own father—something she knew he had felt after their first trip to Isle del Muerta. It had taken him weeks—months—to get over that, and now… now he knew, for sure, and for what? She had just killed Jack Sparrow anyways—something she had kept hidden from him even though they were reconciled.

"What are you waiting for, Elizabeth?" James asked quietly, from behind her. She turned to look at him, expecting sarcasm, or even bitterness in his eyes, but all he showed was understanding and compassion. Ironic that it happened while he was on board a pirate ship, but she had no time to pay attention to ironies.

"I-I don't know," she said quietly, before moving away. She moved towards the captain's cabin, in which Will had disappeared. She hesitated for one last moment before she lightly knocked on the door. There was shuffling heard from inside, the clinking of some bottles, before Will finally opened the door. He looked like he was about to snap at whoever it was, before he realized it was Elizabeth and he closed the door. "Oh, Will, please let me in!" She called softly, knocking again. She heard him slump against the wall, and then… was he crying? She opened the door herself; as he hadn't locked it, and looked down to find that Will was, in fact, crying.

"Go away, Elizabeth," he said, embarrassed. He turned his back to her, and it broke her heart.

"Will, please, let me--"

"I don't need your help! Or your damn pity!" He said, uncorking the bottle of rum in his hand. He stared at it for a moment, as if actually contemplating his actions. Then, he leaned his head back and took a good swig. He wiped his mouth and stared at her, his eyes bloodshot, the tears still falling. "…Or your comfort… you're not supposed… not supposed to com-comfort me… I-I am s-supposed to comfort you. I am supposed to be strong and hold _you._ Not… not like this. Go away… I don't want you to see me like this," he said, turning his back to her again. "I don't want you to know that I'm… I'm we—" He couldn't finish.

"William Turner, don't you dare!" She said suddenly, and he seemed startled. "How dare you think you can't be weak and vulnerable around me? You think I like it when I cry in front of you? I feel weak, and stupid—like all those girls back in Port Royal who I loathed for months on end. If you and I can't cry in front of each other, then whom could I cry in front of? Don't you ever feel you can't be this way in front of me, Will—we are equals, Will… Please—I'm sick of people feeling superior or inferior to me—let's just be equals, and as equals, you can cry in front of me."

"Damn it, Elizabeth," he grunted, but when he turned to her, she realized he was smiling. "You could convince a cat to bark and a fish to fly if you wanted." She giggled and enveloped him in a hug, holding him in her arms. One hand gently pulled the rum bottle from his hand, before it reached up and brushed away his tears. He kissed her roughly on the lips, and she pulled him closer. He ran his tongue between her soft lips, and she parted them readily, although she flinched, only slightly, at the bitter taste of rum on his tongue. When they pulled away, moments later, his eyes still seemed lost, and both his tears and her tears intermingled on both patrons' cheeks. A calloused hand reached up and wiped her tears away, and he smiled at her. She reached up and applied the same courtesy to his cheeks, with a smile all her own. Simultaneously, their heads came forward and they kissed again. She pulled away moments later, "I think we need to go out and help." He pushed his forehead against hers.

"I need some time, Elizabeth, please…" he whispered so quietly, she almost didn't hear him. His breath tickled her nose, and he kissed the tip of it. "Go out and help… I need… I need to think about things." She nodded, kissing him again, before she got up and left.

His deep brown eyes followed her, and once she was gone he picked up the bottle of rum again. He gripped the neck of the grimy bottle tightly, as if he thought it was Davy Jones's neck. He brought it to his lips and took another swig, before he flinched; the taste was still bitter in his mouth. He sat down at Jack's desk, a hand touching all the papers and such around him, still staring at the door. He took another swig, and hiccupped.

"Just you and me, friend, just you… and me."

* * *

"How is he?" James asked, upon seeing Elizabeth return on deck. He had walked over to her, as she looked pretty shaken. 

"He's a wreck… A total, and utter wreck, James, and I don't know what I am supposed to do about it," she said quietly, her eyes scanning the decks for any sign of Tia Dalma. "I'm going to find Tia… ask for her advice—she always knows; always…"

"Don't," James said quickly, and Elizabeth looked at him suspiciously. He sighed, "I… I don't believe Tia Dalma has your best interests at heart."

"And you do?"

"Believe it or not, Elizabeth, I can still care about you, and I still do…" He sighed as she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Lizzie—tell me what you need to know. As a member of the male species, I may have a bit of an advantage over Miss Dalma."

She looked at him again, before she sighed, "All right… Will… Will was crying, all right? And-and he didn't want me to see him like that," she said quickly, as tears were springing to her eyes again at the thought, "…so… so he turned away from me, James. He was ashamed of me—ashamed! And-and I think he's drinking—rum, of all things… He's drinking until he's numb to everything… even… even me."

"I'm sure that's not the case, Elizabeth," James said quickly, hoping to keep her from crying. "…Men can't show weakness in front of other men, and they don't want women to think of them as weak, so they keep it inside. I'd be willing to wager that what's coming out of Will now is pent up from all of his other emotionally destroying episodes… like when he lost his mother, or… or thought you and him were going to be hanged all for that bloody Jack Sparrow character…"

"Captain, James, its Captain Jack Sparrow."

"The man's dead, and yet here is his legacy, living on," James snorted, gesturing towards Elizabeth, who chuckled, before she fell deadpan again.

"…Should I… should I go and talk to him again? Even though he told me he needed to be alone?" She asked, looking back at the door to the cabin again. James sighed.

"You don't want to go back there—you should, but you don't want to," James said quietly, and Elizabeth turned her attention back to him.

"Why not?"

"Because if William Turner is exactly the type of person I take him to be, it's not going to be pretty… Let him be for the moment, and you can come help me navigate the ship towards the Spanish Florida."

"Florida? I thought we were sailing towards World's End?"

"Dalma says we are to go to Florida, and what she says, goes."

* * *

_The fog settled around William Turner as he walked up the skull staircase one more time. The twisted, gnarled thing in his hand, though he was now able to recognize it as a tree branch, hit rhythmically against his legs as he swayed his hands in nervousness. He nearly ran up the rest of the steps, until he heard someone else's footsteps behind him. He turned to see Elizabeth's smiling face, and his face fell._

_"No," he whispered, and she nodded, tears streaming down her face. "No… no, I refuse, Elizabeth!" He stopped climbing the stairs, even though an invisible force seemed to keep prodding him to continue. "I-I can't, do you hear me? I just can't!"_

_"Will—it's fine… I understand it, Will—you need me to be here for you… it's fine, Will—I love you, don't you know?"_

_"Lizzie, I can't… They can't make me—Jack is not this important!"_

_"Jack is everything, William… Without Jack, there would be no us."_

_"There could've been—there would've been, Lizzie, please… don't let me---don't make me!"_

_The force pulled him forward again, and Will began to cry as he finally made it all the way to the end of the steps. He glowered at Hades' smiling face, and he flinched as he saw the gleaming dagger._

_"Do you know what you are to do?"_

_"…I won't! I won't—and you can't make me."_

_"William, 'tis yer destiny! Ye must do it!" Tia Dalma's voice called from below. Will began to sweat._

_"No… I can't… I won't."_

_"The decision's been made, boy… there is nothing you can do."_

_"Isn't there… Can't I… why not Barbossa, or Tia, or Ana Maria—James, even—why Elizabeth?"_

_Hades grinned, as if waiting for Will to ask that question, "Don't you see it, William? You and Elizabeth both played rather large parts in Jack's death, and therefore one of you must play a large role in his rebirth."_

_"In my other dreams—all the other people I killed--"_

_"Threw ye off, didn't they?" Hades chuckled again. "Ah, no, Mister Turner… You see, if James had not let Elizabeth go, your decision would've been rather easy, but now," he let the statement hang in the air ominously. Will grimaced, looking from a panic-struck Elizabeth to the dagger on the table._

_"…One of us has to die?"_

_"Yes, that would fulfill the prophecy," Hades said impatiently. "Come forward!"_

_He moved quickly, and in an instant, Will had set the branch on the altar and picked up the knife. Elizabeth stood next to him, looking worried and determined at the same time._

_"Will--"_

_"Elizabeth, please… Don't make this any harder for me."_

_"Will…"_

_"Elizabeth, I mean it, it's hard enough…"_

_"Will!"_

* * *

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry…" 

She sighed, and decided to let him sleep the rest of it off. She took the empty rum bottle from his clenched fist and placed it on the bedside table. She moved towards he basin of clean water and the bowl and poured some of the water on a towel. It was neither too hot, nor too cold, and she used the now wet towel to wipe off Will's face, now flushed from the liquor.

Norrington had been right; it hadn't been pretty. The one time she had wished that man could've simply lied to her, he was the most right she had ever seen him.

When she had come into the room, Will was sprawled out on the bed, an empty bottle gripped in his right hand, and another one on the ground. He was sweating profusely and muttering to himself, but he still seemed conscious. She knew he was going to be terribly ill in the morning, so she decided to let him sleep it off. She got into the bed beside him before she tucked them both in. She slid an arm around his waist and tried desperately to fall asleep but couldn't. He was still having those damned nightmares, and they were wearing her patience thin. Why couldn't he just tell her about them?

She bit her lip. _Why can't I just tell him I killed Jack?_ Perhaps he doesn't want to ruin their reconciliation, and she was at least thankful for that. It was why she was keeping it from him. Finally, her eyelids grew too heavy and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Haha! Four aces, you bleedin' sac' o' shit! Lemme see ye top tha' one, 'Enry!" Jack yelped, dropping his good poker hand on the table. Bill had only had a pair of Jacks and a pair of twos, King kicker. Now, Henry had to have a Royal Flush to beat Jack, or— 

"Five aces, ye slimey git! An' I believe tha' means I be the newest cap'n o' th' Black Pearl!"

"Tha's no fair! Yer a bloody cheater, tha's wha'!" Jack exclaimed as Henry grinned and Bootstrap shuffled the cards. Henry rolled his eyes at Jack and muttered;

"Pirate."

"…Can't we do anythin' else—like, say, drink a bottle o' rum or somefink?"

"There's no rum on this island," Bill said, passing out the cards again. Jack's eyes widened.

"No rum?"

"No rum," Henry reaffirmed. Jack groaned.

"This really is 'ell, then…"

* * *

**My Christmas present to my lucky readers! Happy Holidays!**

**What to Look for Next Chapter:  
Will/Elizabeth--A lesson in drinking  
James/Ana Maria--Tia's secret plans, revealed--but will the affected parties believe them?  
Spanish Florida--They're going to find the tree branch, and other secrets of the prophecy revealed.  
Jack--Jack finally comes back to the land of the living--but at what price?**

_Thanks for the reviews! You people keep me smiling!  
♥_


	7. To the Day you Die

**Disclaimer: Everything recognizable © Disney. Everything else is mine.**

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long; I'm hope I didn't disappoint. Next one should be a bit easier to pump out, as soon as I find the riddle I wrote when I first started this story. Yes! Finally, we are going to get to that riddle... next chapter. Also, for next chapter, Jack is back--but at what price? And last, but not least, I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing. It means a lot to me.**

**Enjoy!****

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**Chapter Seven: To the Day You Die**

**By: MJ**

"Oh… Oh, God… I swear I am never going to drink again," Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut tighter as she heard the sound of Will retching. She opened them when he stopped, only to see her beloved sitting at Jack's desk, his head in between his legs, and a pail at his feet. She sighed, with a small, knowing smile, before she climbed out of bed and walked towards him. Her hands went straight to his long curls, and she gently held them back with one hand, and rubbed his back with the other. He continued to be sick into the pail as she held back his hair and rubbed his back. He looked up at her when he was done, wiping his mouth with the back of his hands. "Another role re… reversal?" He had gagged halfway through the sentence, but his stomach was empty. She smiled.

"I'd kiss you, but--"

"At this moment, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd rather kiss Ja—Ragetti," Will saved himself from her shocked look when he turned and was sick again.

"William!"

"Don't… don't shout." Will said, sitting up. He placed a hand on his head. She really hadn't heard him, as he was talking so softly, but he repeatedd himself as she opened her mouth to admonish him again. "Just… keep it at a whisper until… until this _blasted_ headache goes away."

"Fi—_fine_," she whispered, bending down to his level. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you?" He asked, looking at her carefully. She had said her last sentence a bit too eagerly for his liking, and he showed his uneasiness with the subject from the dread that was dripping from his voice. He gagged again, and she sighed, looking at her feet briefly. She looked back up at him.

"It's not about wanting to… it's more or less about whether or not we need to," Elizabeth said slowly and carefully, watching his eyes for any sign of, well, anything. He closed them, resting his head in a hand briefly before he opened them.

"Well…" he said, looking pointedly at her, "_I_ am certainly not the one that needs to talk about you… well… _kissing Jack_." The last two words were more forced than the others, and she felt as if he had physically slapped her. He had closed his eyes as he said them, and opened them again and looked at her. "So… must we discuss it?"

"…I…yes. Per… perhaps we should."

"When you're ready," he leaned back, placing the pail in his lap just in case.

"Well, Will, you can't hold--"

"Shh… whisper, please…" He winced as she began to raise her voice again. She offered him an apologetic smile and an 'I told you so' expression.

"…You… you can't hold anything against me, William—please, you just… you just _can't_," Elizabeth stressed. Will stroked her cheek lovingly with his index finger, his free hand still holding onto his head. "…I… _Ever_… Well, you see," she began to panic; where was she supposed to start? How much should she reveal?

"If you can't trust me, Elizabeth, than who could you trust? …If we're going… going…" he gagged again, "if we're going to get… married, we have to be completely and totally honest with each other."

"Fine." Elizabeth bit her lip, wondering where she should start. "Remember… remember what I told you… about the island?"

"When you and Jack were marooned?" Will asked, and Elizabeth nodded, continuing.

"When we were on the island, I told you that Jack had made advances towards me, but I… I was able to persuade him to drink instead," when Will nodded slightly, having only remembered bits in pieces, she continued, "…He was just… just so bold. I-I have never seen someone ever treat a woman like that--save the trips to Tortuga. All my life I grew up in a society of-of people with their heads up their arses using money to barter a bride. Intercourse was… was _never_ discussed, yet-yet here was this man, sitting on a beach with me—a governor's daughter, of all things! —Talking to me about freedom and life. Wrapping his arms around my shoulders, and whispering things like how good I looked in my ear." She looked away, her cheeks burning. Will was clenching his fist around the arm of the chair, and was staring at the empty rum bottle on the table. He knew that she really never held her status over anyone unless it was an extreme case, and Jack Sparrow was the most extreme of them all. He understood that she was only stressing her social status to prove just how out of line Jack was, but it also made Will feel inferior as well, even though she wasn't doing it on purpose. "…He even… tried to take advantage of me, and although tempted, I refused. I refused because I knew… I knew that I loved _you_." She said the words slowly, and Will hopelessly wondered if she was trying to convince herself of what she was saying.

"Months went by, and I was back at home with an overbearing father and a wedding to plan," she said, sitting down. She leaned against the desk, her legs sticking out straight. She stared right in front of her, but she could feel his piercing brown eyes burning holes into her skull as she continued on cautiously, "…And we never really… really kissed the way that we had kissed that day at the fort." She said, closing her eyes before looking at him. Hurt was evident in his face, and she bit her lip. "…I missed that. I missed how bold and adventurous you were. How you could kiss me like that without a care in the world if the entire human race was standing there watching. You… you became exactly what I hated—you started being careful of what you said and how you said it. You couldn't even hold my hand in public for the first few months—and it… it really bothered me. I began to miss the forwardness—the boldness of how you used to be. And although you got better—you would hold my hand and kiss my cheek, and we'd even kiss a bit more… _passionately_ whenever I would visit you in the smithy." She smiled, not noticing how more and more upset he was getting. All Will could keep thinking about was—if he hadn't been that way, her father would've broken the engagement… If he had been the way that she wanted him, they would have never been able to get married. Didn't she see that--? Didn't she understand that he had done it for her--?

"But… as the months past, I longed for that feeling of… sensuality that occurred on that island with Jack and me; the feeling I felt when you kissed me on that fort. I felt so… beautiful—do you understand what I mean? …I liked the attention, I suppose. I liked the way I was being treated—like… someone of interest, in a completely nonsocial way." She stopped to look at him, but immediately looked away from his burning eyes, that were staring at her so… betrayed. She bit her lip. "Nothing… again—sigh," she figured it useless.

"Elizabeth, I--"

"Let me finish, Will, please…" She begged. "…When… when it came down to our wedding day and you didn't show, I wanted to pull my hair out. The guests left; it began to rain, and I couldn't even care. I just wanted to know why I was further being provoked to do something I didn't want to do," she didn't go into detail, and Will wondered if she truly wanted to marry him at that moment. "Then… then you finally came---in chains!" she let out a quiet sob, but Will made no moves to hold her in his arms and comfort her. "And Beckett was there—just standing there, with a smug smile on his face while he told us how we were going to die because of something we believed in.

"I just wanted you to hold me in your arms and tell me everything was going to be all right. To kiss me like there was no tomorrow, and just… just remind me that if we were to die that it was because we did something right, and they were the ones doing wrong. I wanted to hear you say it because it didn't sound that well in my head, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth when I said it aloud.

"But you didn't. The next day you were sent to Beckett, with only that one lonely night together in separate cells," she sighed, looking down at her hands, "and after that you left me breathless after you told me you had to leave to find Jack… Bloody rotten Jack.

"Everything else was a bit of a blur. One moment you're about to kiss me, and the next my father is whisking me away to England—telling me how I am to be a society woman, even in this dire situation. How even if you did return, both of us were to die. That he could save me and not you, so instead I should go marry off to some nice family in England while he still had his influence and power in London; the selfish jerk," she said the last part quietly and under her breath, but Will still caught it. A smile crossed his face for a moment before he frowned again when she continued—

"So there I was again, alone in the world off to Tortuga in hopes of finding you… The wind was in my hair and the sea surrounded me, and I was happy again. I was able to take control of the situation and manipulate the crew into sailing into Tortuga. From there, I found Jack…

"He picked up right where he left off—didn't waste any breath, just straight away with the compliments… 'Those clothes don't flatter you at all, it should be a dress or nothing—I happen to have no dress in my closet'," she repeated with a remarkable resemblance to Jack's voice. Will cringed, "As much as I wanted to find you—to tell you that I loved you and that if we were to face the noose, we should at least face it together—but here I was enjoying Sparrow's attention… I liked the way he treated me like… someone worthy of affection, you know? I can't explain it… I just liked it. I… I had a lust for his attention, not so much him. Perhaps I just needed to be touched and told that I was loved without exactly the words 'I love you'," she sighed, "I mean… I don't know. I wanted what Jack was giving me, and I didn't care that it was Jack who gave it to me—I just wanted that… I lusted over the attention, never Jack—Remember that, Will, please. The attention, not Jack.

"He would… he would try to kiss me, he would make moves on me—advances, if you will, and I was so in love with the attention, I didn't realize exactly how far I was going until… until James said something. I felt like such a scarlet woman—I was ashamed, yet I still longed for more. I tried… I tried so hard to just focus on getting you back.

"When you came back and held me in your arms and kissed me the way you did, Jack was the farthest thing from my mind. Finally, I had the bold, insanely… passionate Will that I had lost to the thought that society could pull us apart. Finally I had what I needed… or so I thought.

"Jack still… attempted to sway me to break the vows of engagement, if you will, and although I had all the attention I wanted and needed, I still needed more… I still… lusted towards the attention Jack gave me….

"When the Kraken was there… when he was about to kill us all, I realized—he wasn't after the Pearl… He was after Jack, and for the rest of us to live, we needed… to lose Jack," this was when it got hard for her, as she was about to cry. She hadn't told anyone this, but she needed to get it off of her chest. "I… I seemed to be the only one to realize this—besides Jack of course. So… So when I was about to leave, I got really close, very flirtatious and promiscuous…. He seemed to enjoy it, so I leaned in and I kissed him. I kissed bloody Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack bloody Sparrow…

"I did it for two reasons… One, to slake that lust that I held for Jack; and the other was so… so that I could-so that I…" She stopped, and Will (who by now was holding his head in his hands, refusing to look at her) looked up. He saw that she was crying—that she felt bad for what she did, and he sighed.

"Come on, Lizzy…"

"You're going to hate me for saying this, but… I chained Jack to the mast. He didn't elect to stay behind… _I forced him to do it._"

The silence was killing her; her shoulders shook as she fought to hold back the tears threatening to escape. Her hands held her head steady as she stared at the ground before her, wondering what Will was going to say to her. She heard him sigh, grunt, and shift positions. She felt his presence suddenly beside her on the ground, and she was finally able to break down as he pulled her in his arms and held her.

She gripped his shirt tightly, her arms flung around his neck firmly, her head buried in the crook of his neck. She cried, finally freeing herself of that overwhelming guilt of Jack's death as he held her. He still had said nothing, had not said a word since her revelation, not even a simple, "It's going to be okay."

Nothing.

She pulled away suddenly, embarrassed. She wiped her tears off of his neck as she did anything to avoid his eyes. They would truly tell her what she was dreading to hear. They would either be full of love, or full of hatred, and she was too scared of a broken heart to look into them. It wasn't until Will grabbed her hands in his did she meet his eye.

Nothing.

His eyes remained blank, and his mouth opened and shut, at a loss for something to say. He wanted to tell her what he knew she needed to hear, but his heart couldn't formulate the words together. He opened his mouth.

Nothing.

She looked as though she wanted to cry, but he pulled her into a kiss before the tears could even form in the corners of her cinnamon eyes. His lips caressed hers so gently before he pulled away, and simply held her in his arms, that she didn't even realize she had been kissed until he kissed the top of her head gently.

She relaxed in his grasp, and her breathing became much more normal.

"Say something," she whispered after a few more moments of silence. She looked up at him, and there was still nothing in his eyes.

He seemed to be contemplating what to say, until, "There's… there's nothing I can say, Elizabeth." He started quietly, his eyes closing for a second as he thought some more, "There are many other factors in this situation that you know nothing of, and I do not expect you to understand them once you know of them," he opened his eyes. He looked at her, "Whatever I do… I do for you. Please, to the day that you die, remember that."

"I will," she said, slightly frightened with the power and determination his voice held as he spoke.

"To the day you die, remember that everything I do is for you."

* * *

They stayed like that until Gibbs pounded on the door, announcing dinner. They joined the rambunctious crew in the galley for a bit of hardtack and stew, eating quietly and to themselves in a corner; Will was avoiding Elizabeth's eyes (which were constantly on him). Ana Maria and Gibbs ate with them, trying to make small talk. 

"We'll have reached Spanish Florida in about an hour—it was spotted at dawn this morn," Ana Maria reported to Will, who shrugged. "…Why are we going there again?"

"Prophecy," Will muttered, hitting his hardtack against the table, trying to break off a piece to eat.

"What?"

"We need… to get something there so that Will can bring Jack back." Elizabeth said just as quietly as will, sipping her stew.

"Aye, I figured that, but _what_?" Gibbs asked, looking back at Will.

"Did some reading," Will said, finally dunking the hard, cracker-like loaf into his piping-hot stew, "while I was… recovering—Jack has everything and anything in there. There's a specific tree native to Spanish Florida called the cypress tree. Hades… The devil… is _partial_ to it. It's roots… look like knees."

"Knees?"

"They're knotted—like… like the knees of an older person." Will explained.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

So Gibbs and Ana Maria had succeeded in distracting Will from the troubles of his relationship with Elizabeth long enough for him to talk of what he had to do. In reality, it didn't help that much, as he could only reminisce of that horrible dream, but he wasn't thinking of how Elizabeth had not only betrayed his trust by kissing Jack—but that she was the true reason as to why he had to kill either himself or her to bring Jack back.

* * *

True to Ana Maria's word, they reached the island within the hour. Will stood at the bow, his father's knife gripped tightly in his hand. He turned around as he heard someone climbing up the steps onto the front deck. "Listen, Elizabeth, I--" 

"Do I look like yer dear Lizzie now, boy?" Tia Dalma questioned, smirking at Will. Her black teeth made him cringe and he turned back around.

"After I…" Will said after a pause. "I get the root—how long of a distance is it to World's End?"

"We're dere," she said as they felt the ship shudder as the anchor dropped.

"We're at Spanish Florida—how is this world's end?"

"'ave ye not 'eard of Christopher Columbus, an' 'ow dey all d'ought de world was flat?" Tia Dalma was a large source of information; Will sighed.

"Who hasn't?"

"Dey d'ought he was gon' to go off da edge of de map—an' he did, but he didn't know dis… Ye are cuttin' off de root of a special cypress tree, William, an' dat in itself is our ticket to da underworld."

"How?"

"Ye steal somefink ou' o' yer neighbor's yard, ye go t' jail. Ye cut a root off of Hades's tree, an' ye go t'hell. Come, now, let's be goin', aye?"

Will watched her leave for a moment, bewildered at the thought of having so little time to think everything over. "Now or never," he whispered to himself, watching, as Elizabeth got into a long boat—happy. She was smiling and laughing to something Ana Maria had told her. So innocent and ignorant—what was he to do?

* * *

They rowed to shore to be greeted with the anxious Spaniards. "_¿Qué quieres?_" One finally asked; the crew turned immediately to Ana Maria, who seemed slightly insulted at the insinuation. 

"_Queremos visitar con familia. No estamos permaneciendo aquí._"

"_¿Viven en esto pueblo?_"

"_No. Viven en el bosque._" She pointed towards the woods behind the men who had stopped them at the docks. They turned and looked. "_¿Cuánto cuestan?_"She pointed back to the ship. They smiled.

"_Tres shillings_."

She looked at Barbossa, who was still staring blankly at her. "_Dios mios. Mi equipo es muy estúpido. ¿Dónde podemos comer?_" She said, talking directly to the man now, her face showing her annoyance.

She had handed them the money at this point, and they smiled. "_En el bosque._" They walked away from their group to another ship that was getting ready to take off again. Ana Maria sighed.

"Let's go."

* * *

Will led the way again as they walked into the marshy everglades. He was following Tia Dalma's directions very carefully; searching for the cypress tree with the largest roots. It was also the tallest of the trees. 

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked nervously from behind Will.

"We need to get something… It will take us to World's End…"

"How" she huffed, as her last step brought the murky, muddy water to her knee, drenching her breeches, and making the inside of her boots wet "are we going to find something _here_ that will take us _there_?"

"Just… trust me, all right?" Will snapped, slightly annoyed by the insinuation.

Elizabeth said nothing, but the numbness inside of her grew as she realized that what she had told him had not brought them closer, but had driven them further apart. She wondered whether or not she should say something—anything to get him to understand—but before she could even open her mouth to say a quick, "I'm sorry", Will had stopped.

"This one, Dalma?" He called to the back of the line, which had grown since their journey on Isle del Diablo. Norrington was behind Elizabeth, and Gibbs and Ana Maria followed behind Barbossa and Tia Dalma, carrying a large, heavy axe.

The island woman sized it up, and then closed her eyes. She opened them again. "Aye. Dis be da tree."

"Will, I--" Elizabeth whispered, reaching out to grab his shoulder, but he wasn't paying attention; his eyes were distant, as if he was a thousand miles away from her at that moment. Ana Maria had brought him the axe, and he tightened it in his hands.

"Does it matter which one, Dalma?" He asked, looking at the many, ugly roots. Elizabeth tried again.

"Will—please!"

"No, boy, just cut a ni' sized one—so it'll look goo' fer da cer'mony," Tia said, slightly bored.

"Will, can we talk a bit before you do this?"

"Ye ha' all mornin' t'talk," Barbossa growled, "so shut yer mouth an' let the boy do wut he needs!"

Elizabeth bit her lip as Will stared at her, slightly confused, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned and began hacking away at the largest root. About five or so blows later, the root broke free, and he picked it up, turning to stare at Tia Dalma with a sort of 'now what?' expression on his face.

Suddenly, in the middle of the swamp, a whirlpool began to form. Slowly, at first, with a slight gurgling noise, but soon it was growing larger and larger. A swift, cool wind began blowing around them, the trees swaying as it picked up speed. Upon instinct, Elizabeth came closer to Will, who pulled her into him without thinking. His knuckles had turned white as he grasped the branch tighter and tighter. Tia Dalma began laughing, and James looked as though he was about to vomit. Ana Maria and Gibbs were simply staring, and Gibbs was muttering a quick prayer. Barbossa was simply staring, as it got bigger.

A pulling sensation began tugging at Will and Elizabeth's knees, and suddenly, they were flying into the black hole that had formed in the middle of the swamp. Elizabeth was screaming, and Will remained distant in the eyes, but was holding onto Elizabeth for dear life.

They fell, onto something rock hard, with fog surrounding them, and a lump formed in Will's throat. Moments later, came everyone else, falling beside them in sporadic intervals, all holding the same confused look on their features. That is, except for Tia Dalma, who looked excited.

"Will, what's going on?" Elizabeth asked, turning to look at him.

"You, there!" A voice suddenly shouted, and the group turned to see a demon staring at them wildly. "Who here is going to be performing the ceremony?"

"What ceremony?" Elizabeth asked, looking to Will, who looked both frightened and determined at the same time.

"I am."

"Ah," a deeper voice, coming from a higher place. "William Turner—have you decided?"

He withdrew a deep breath and nodded. "Yes—I have."

"Step forward."

"Will, stop!" Elizabeth said, suddenly understanding. The prophecy was ringing clearly in her mind.

_Eyes of road,_

_Knees of the trees,_

_Come to the Devil's head—_

_Where blood will be met,_

_Tears shall be shed,_

_And only one shall return from the dead._

Will was going to sacrifice himself for Jack, and she couldn't let that happen. She was the one who had put Jack in this situation, and she wasn't about to let Will do this to himself because of her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself.

"Step forward!" The deep voice bellowed. Will took a step forward, and then—

"Elizabeth, no!" Will said, watching her slowly as Elizabeth took a step forward as well. He looked at her painfully, and she looked at him sympathetically.

"It's okay, Will, do what you have to do," she whispered, smiling bravely. "I trust you."

He looked forward, more frightened now, than determined, as the demon gestured towards the stone steps. He began to walk, and heard Elizabeth's timid footsteps behind him, and a bit of muttering from the crew, especially from James, Ana Maria, and Gibbs.

"What's going on?"

"What does Will have to do?"

"Why's Elizabeth going with him?"

They began to trudge up the steps, the voices getting smaller until they disappeared completely. He looked at her, and stopped, although a force seemed to keep pulling him towards the top. "Elizabeth, they can't make me… Please, go back down—I can't do this—not to you."

"Will… I know… and I understand. I can't let you do this; this was my choice and my mistake—I should be the one to pay the price."  
"Elizabeth… I would have to do it…" she flinched suddenly, her eyes flashing in fear all of a sudden. "Please, Lizzie, don't make me… Just… Just, please… I refuse!" He tripped from the force, and got back up and kept walking. "They can't make me… they just can't…" He muttered over and over. She bit her lip, afraid for both of their lives.

"Jack isn't this important," the fog was clearing up, and Will was getting desperate.

"Jack is everything, Will—without Jack, there would be no us." He knew she was going to say that, but it still made him sick to his stomach. The fog was even clearer; he could see the platform.

"There could've been—there would've been; Elizabeth, please…"

"William Turner!" Hades bellowed, grinning maniacally. Will swallowed the lump forming with one last look at Elizabeth. The dagger was gleaming on the alter, and he shivered, tightening his grip on the tree root. "Have you made your decision?"

"Yes…" He said quietly.

"I can't hear you!"  
"Yes! Can we move along with this?"

"Will…"

"Step forward!" Hades bellowed, and Will stepped forward. As did Elizabeth.

"Will."

"Whenever you're ready!" Hades grinned, leaning back. "Think long and hard about who you want to bring back. Spill the blood over the branch, and it shall be done…" He laughed, "A life for a life, the prophecy speaks!"

"Will!"

He looked up at Elizabeth, "Everything I do, I do it for you."

He raised the dagger.

Elizabeth barely had enough time to scream.

* * *

♥

* * *

**Spanish Translations:**

_¿Qué quieres? _**What do you want?**

_Queremos visitar con familia. No estamos permaneciendo aquí. _**We want to visit with our family. We're not going to be staying here.**

_¿Viven en esto pueblo? _**They live in this town?**

_No. Viven en el bosque. _**No. They live in the forest.**

_¿Cuánto cuestan? _**How much does it cost?**

_Tres shillings. _**Three shillings.**

_Dios mios. Mi equipo es muy estúpido. ¿Dónde podemos comer? _**My God. My crew is very stupid. Where can we eat?**

_En el bosque. _**In the forest.**


	8. Counting on Your Luck

**Disclaimer: The plot, the prophecy, and the riddle are mine. Everything else? Psh... © Disney.**

**Author's Notes: So... My week has just kind of sucked. What with people constantly lying to me, and it being "Single Awareness Day" on Wednesday and all. Oh, and when I try to cheer myself up by writing more of this story, I forgot that I wrote the Devil's Riddle on my English homework... that's sitting in my locker. So... Yeah, there's mention of it, but the full thing will be in the next chapter. Sorry to disappoint. Well...**

**Heeeeeere's Jack...**

**

* * *

**

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**Chapter Eight: Counting on Your Luck**

**By: MJ**

"…Really bad eggs," Jack muttered, his hands gripping the wheel tightly, as if he was about to fall over it he were to let go. He was back on his precious Pearl, sailing into the horizon to save his best friend from a regrettable fate. He was whistling to keep his mind off of it, his eyes straight in front of him so that he wouldn't have to see that looming figure on the bow, who he knew must be blaming him for everything.

He sighed and looked down at his boots, still covered in the black sands of purgatory, with a blood spot on the tip from when he had accidentally stepped in—

"Nope… no-no-no-no-no, not goin' tithing o' tha'," he said, looking back up immediately. He was trying desperately to get the images out of his mind, the images of his friend sacrificing… "Damn it all!" He declared. "Gibbs—man th' wheel!"

"Cap'n—why don' we just pull inta' port. I fink ever'one needs to jus'--"

"Man the wheel, and keep t'th' 'eadin'. We dun' need t'stop anywhere, undastand? Jus'… jus' keep lookin' t'th' horizon, aye?" Jack said, and Gibbs took the wheel. "'E still at the bow?"

"Aye—still all shaken up as 'ell. Ye should go talk to--"

"Not until I get a bit o' rum in me, savvy?" Jack said, walking down the steps.

"Aye, Cap'n… perhaps fer th'best."

He took off his hat in a fake salute to the older man before he walked past the solemn crew and into his cabin. He walked over empty rum bottles and clicked his tongue, "Aye, William, yer a mess…" he said quietly, moving to his desk. He opened up the bottom drawer and pulled out his prize bottle of rum. He uncorked it, and tossed the thing aside; he wasn't going to need it later. He tipped his hat and lifted the bottle in a toast before he threw his head back and gulped the fiery liquid down.

_"Royal Flush, read 'em an' weep, gents!" Jack said, turning to Henry and Bootstrap, who had four aces and four kings, respectively. "I guess tha' means I get me ship back, **and** Will an' Liz will be namin' their firs' chil' after me." He said, looking to Henry for the first part of his sentence, and Bootstrap for the last. They both were grumbling when suddenly their atmosphere began to change. "Wha'th'ell?" Jack muttered, as he began to twist and turn around._

_"We're changing hells, I suppose," Bootstrap commented. Henry was nowhere to be seen. _

_"Wonderful… just when I started t' 'ave a bit o' fun…"_

_Bootstrap merely shot him a look, and he shrugged. Suddenly, the twisting stopped, and they were… back on the platform? _

_"Jack Sparrow and William Turner—you will watch this!" Hades called. They were suddenly jerked out of the fog they had been standing in. Situated next to Hades's chair, they finally were able to see… Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann? Confused, Jack was about to ask a question to the couple—perhaps call out to them a 'hello, help me out here' when a demon guard pushed him._

_"They can't see or hear you, chump. Just watch the show, aye?"_

_"Elizabeth… they can't make me do this—Jack isn't this important," Will's voice seemed magnified at least a thousand times the normal volume. Elizabeth shook her head, smiling._

_"Jack is everything—without Jack, there would be no us…"_

_"Did ye 'ear tha', Bill? Wif'out me, there'd be no them!" _

_"Shaddup, Jack—what the 'ell is William doin' 'ere? I dun like the looks o' this, Jack… Not at all…"_

_"There could've been—there would've been; Elizabeth, please…"_

_"William Turner!" Hades suddenly bellowed._

_"Yes?" Bill asked. The guard shook his head._

_"Not you!"_

_"Have you made your decision?" That was when Jack noticed the dagger. Evidently, so did both Will Turners._

_"Yes…" Will muttered._

_"NO!" Bill yelped, his hands flying to his long, curly hair. Gnarled fingers grabbed the locks and jerked. "No… this can'be happ'nin'!"_

_Jack watched his friend, wondering what he should do._

_"I can't hear you!"_

_"Yes! Can we move along with this?"_

_"Will," Elizabeth suddenly spoke up. Will wouldn't look at her. He was staring long and hard at the dagger, and then he looked up. He was staring past Hades—could he see Jack and Bill standing there?_

_"Step forward!" Hades bellowed; he looked absolutely, hysterically happy. Will and Elizabeth both stepped forward._

_"Will." She said, a bit more forceful; louder._

_"Whenever you're ready!" Hades bellowed again, almost laughing. He was leaning back in his chair. Bill looked as if he was going to cry and be sick at the same time. Jack's insides were twisting, and Elizabeth looked panicked. "Think long and hard over who you want to bring back. Spill the blood over the branch, and it shall be done." Hades leaned forward. "A life for a life, the prophecy speaks!"_

"_Will!" Elizabeth screeched, attempting to break his gaze away from the knife. Bill went hysterical.  
"No! William—dunt! 'M not worth it—Jack's not worth it… No, William—ye got yer whole life ahead a ye! I'm beggin' ye—please!" Bill collapsed to his knees, attempting to shuffle forward to be closer to his son. The guard was blocking his way, sending blows to his back with his tiny, fiery fists, but Bill kept on. "Please, William—dunt!"_

_Will picked up the dagger and held it in his hands. It felt as though his eyes were staring straight at Jack. He turned to Elizabeth. "Everything I do, I do for you…"_

_"WILLIAM!" Bill roared. _

_He raised the dagger—Elizabeth had no time to scream before it pierced flesh; the blood went everywhere. Jack looked to Bill, who had stopped moving. He pushed himself back, horrified. _

_Jack felt weird all over, as if he was just regaining his senses after being frozen for many, many years. The underworld around him was disappearing, and he was quickly losing his sight of Bill, but he would never forget the words he uttered:_

_"My son… a murderer."

* * *

_

Jack opened his eyes to see Ana Maria, watching him from the other side of the room. She looked unsure of whether she should hug him, or bring him another bottle of rum.

"Wha'?" He said, grumpily. He took a swig of his bottle of rum and glared at her.

"Ye were screamin' bloody murder—ye scared us all t'death!"

"I was havin' a bad dream… 'm human, ye know," he said, leaning back in his chair. She snorted.

"Barely," she muttered. He rolled his eyes at her.

"What's going on?"

"How far away from this isle are we?"

"Dunno… Could be days, an' it could be months."

"Dun' say tha'," Ana Maria said quickly. "Least not aroun'… ye know."

"Why not?"

"Ye be the one t'tell 'em tha' we can' save their fiancé for another few months, ye see how dey react," Ana Maria said, grabbing the bottle from him to take a swig. "Dey be a mess already—dun make it worse."

Jack grabbed back his bottle and finished it off, glowering at her. "Wha' makes ye think I'd do a thing like tha'?"

Ana Maria grinned, "Because yer Captain Jack Sparrow—stupidity is your middle name."

* * *

"Why would you do something so stupid, Will, why?" Bill grunted as he walked along a never-ending beach, talking to himself. "You had all your lives ahead of you… to end it so quickly—just, _why_?" 

"I'm sure he had his reasons, Bill," a soft voice said from behind. Bill closed his eyes and turned around, his jaw dropping to the floor.

* * *

"Bring back my heart… heart—oh, please tell me we're not on another cat-and-mouse chase for a second chest!" Jack moaned as he, Tia Dalma, and Barbossa began pondering over the riddle Hades had left the group with. Ana Maria had written it down for them, having a memory like a mousetrap; she hears something once, and remembers it forever. 

"I fink it's more or less one of 'is treasures," Tia said, leaning over the prophecy. "'Cause, look—'golden narcissus'… tha' sounds like a treasure… 'Golden'."

"It's a flower," Barbossa growled, walking over to the bookshelf. "I remember readin' abou' it a' one point or 'nother."

"Flower? What the 'ell would 'ades wan' wif a flower?" Tia snapped back. She leaned back in her chair and grabbed the arms. "It's a treasure, believe me."

"Why should I believe ye, ye were the one 'o put William up t'dis in th' firs' place!" Jack fired back. Tia rolled her eyes, and Barbossa grinned. "Wif'out yer bloody 'elp, we wouldn't 'ave t'find this damn thing in the first place."

"An' if ye had jest accepted yer debt t'Jones, we wouldn't either…" Tia retorted. "Or, perhaps, if ye had held ont'a de hear' fer a bit longer, ye know."

"Ye'd know a bit 'bou' tha' 'eart, wouldn't ya, Tia? Bein' ye were the one 'o caused him t'—"

"Shut up! Both of ye! We aren't goin' t'finish a damned thing if ye can't stop bickering like children," Barbossa dropped a book on Jack's desk to emphasize his point. "There. I collected a bunch o' sailors' tales in hopes of findin' those medallions quicker. We should look at those before we discuss this any more. Perhaps someone else knows a bi' abou' dis devil's riddle."

* * *

"'Ow is 'e?" Gibbs asked James, as he walked out of the crew's quarters, a place being avoided by the rest of the crew at all costs. None of them have been in there for the past three days, as everyone wanted to avoid having to come face to face with an emotionally distraught pirate who knew how to handle a sword very, very well. 

"Fine, for now, anyway. Why—do you need something? Perhaps… I should get it," James said quietly, poking his head back in the room for a second.

"'E asleep?"

"Yes, yes… Just fell asleep, but I don't know for how long…" At Gibbs's look, he shrugged. "Nightmares."

"Ah, yes… I 'aven't slept fer days meself, an' I didn't even see anythin'."

"You were lucky… I've been told everything… in… explicit detail," he said. Gibbs smiled and began to dig something out of his pocket. He offered his flask to Norrington, who shook his head.

"That stuff nearly ruined my entire life at one point… I don't want it to do the same again…"

A scream resounded out of the crews' quarters, and James sighed. The crew seemed to stop working to stare at the opened door, and Gibbs hung his head.

"God speed," Gibbs whispered, clapping Norrington on the back as they heard the call of:

"James?"

* * *

"'ere's one!" Jack shouted suddenly, causing the other patrons in the room to walk towards him. He set the book on his desk and prodded the page with his finger over and over. "There—righ' there! '_I met d'devil around th' coast o'da Americas…He said 'e could help me if I helped him… but I don' go' no boat t'go t'da isle he wishes…'_." They were all staring at Jack, confused, and he raised a single brow. "Wha'? I got somefink on me face?" 

"I didn't think ye could read…" Ana Maria let out slowly.

"Then why was I da one wif th' book?"

"Just wanted t'keep ye occupied," Barbossa shrugged, taking the book off the desk. "This is a bit too convenient… That riddle was personal—as if specifically fer…. Well, ye know… our situation. This could mean anything… Remember tha' story Gibbs told us las' nigh'? Th' one abou' th'man who made a deal with th' devil t'find 'im some gold?"

"Aye, an' the devil stole his soul? This's probably just a drunken pirate version o' th' same thing," Jack shrugged, sighing. "We're not getting' nowhere wif this…"

"We can't jes' give up!" Ana Maria said quickly, getting up. "We'll get this—we have to…"

"I never said anyt'ing about giving up… We just need another opinion… Does our ol' pal Norry still 'ave th' heart o' Jones?" Jack asked, looking at Barbossa, who suddenly looked as if he was in a lot of pain.

"He gave it to William…"

"Who, with our luck, 'as prob'ly stabbed it by now," Jack grunted, shifting his weight in his chair. "Damn it…"

* * *

"Charlotte?" Bill called out, anxiously, looking at the faint figure a few yards away. "Charlotte—is it really you?" 

"Yes," her melodic voice returned, and Bill smiled.

"I'd have thought… you'd… well, I'd never thought I'd see you here," he gestured around them. She walked closer, a hand flying to his cheek. She stroked it and smiled, her beautiful smile that had caused him to ache many a-times while he was at sea. He reached up to touch her—to know that she was real and not some mirage—some apparition. His fingers intertwined with her honey hair, and tears sprung to his dark brown eyes. "It really is you."

"Yes, Bill, it's me," she laughed, tears springing to her own.

"How… how is this still hell?"

"…It's not," a voice called from a distance. They turned and looked, and both of them screamed. Blood was seeping out of a fatal chest wound, the dagger stuck outright in this person's chest. They managed to chuckled, however, and called, "It's all right—I don't feel a thing…"

* * *

"What if he gave it back before… it all happened? There's still a chance he had given it to James, or… Gibbs, maybe?" Jack asked, the hope evident in his voice. Ana Maria shook her head. 

"The heart went up the platform, and it never came down."

"Bugger…" Jack growled, slamming a fist onto the table. "Could there be a rule? What if he hadn't stabbed it after all, and… he traded it to Hades for something?"

"Why would he do a thing like that?"

"Hades, when I first wen' t' you-know-where, had made th' off-handed comment tha' 'e personally hated Jones's guts 'cause 'e often kep' 'im from receivin' souls 'e had always wanted fer many, many years," Jack said. "What if Jones struck a deal with him before the deed was done and he did something… irrational?"

"I guess we'll find out one way or 'nother."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked Barbossa, who

"Jones was supposed t' protect th' Pearl… if'n offendin' ship comes on th' 'orizon, we know Will stabbed th' 'eart. If nothin' happens, nothin's changed," Barbossa shrugged. Tia and Ana Maria did the same.

"Well, I'll be countin' on yer luck, 'cause I'm a 'orrible gambler," Jack said with a smile.

"Captain!" Gibbs shouted as he pounded on the door to Jack's cabin.

"Wha' is it, Mister Gibbs!" Jack called. Ana Maria opened the door.

"It's Miss Elizabeth, sir!" Gibbs said nervously. Jack stood up; the girl was an emotional wreck on a good day, but… after what happened, she was probably suicidal.

"Wha' abou' 'er?"

"She has Jones's heart… and she's about to stab it."

* * *

"Will!" Bill shouted as he and Charlotte finally reached their still-bleeding son, who was sitting in the sand, staring at the oblivion around him. "Will, are you all right?" 

"Well… Literally speaking, I'm dead," Will said grimly, looking up at Bill and Charlotte. "…but in the sense that I think you initially wanted… I'm fine."

"Why… are you still bleeding?"

"Because it causes you both pain," he grunted, standing up. He put a hand to the dagger and grabbed it. He yanked it out and threw it on the sand, but the bleeding persisted. Charlotte went to attempt to stop it, but Will pushed her back. "There's nothing you can do… but, honestly, I don't feel a thing."

There was a pause, followed by a long, awkward silence. Finally, Charlotte enveloped Will in a long, fierce hug. "Son," she whispered into his hair, wet with sweat.

"Mum," he whispered back, holding her close.

"Son," Bill muttered. Charlotte pulled away and Will sighed, biting his lip.

"I'm… so sorry, Father," he began, looking at the dagger before he looked up at Bill.

"Fer wha'?" Bill asked, confused.

"…I… I wasn't able to save you. I… I killed you, and now… you're stuck in purgatory until Hades decides what to do with you."

"Is tha' wha' this is? Purgatory?" Bill looked around. Charlotte smiled, and Will looked confused. "Damn."

"What?"

"Well," Bill said, looking back at Will. "It seemed like heaven, wif me beautiful wife an' me boy righ' 'ere… by me side." Will smiled, and Charlotte giggled.

"You always were a tad overdramatic," she said softly. Bill shook his head.

"'M a pirate—it's allowed…"

For the first time in a while, Will laughed outright.

* * *

**So... Bittersweet?**

**Oh! Charlotte's an OC that I decided would be Will's mother. I was half way through writing the story when I realized... I have an Uncle Bill and an Aunt Charlotte. Hah. **

**Oh. In answer to many requests/questions:**

**I have this... disability, where I can't write a story with an unhappy ending. So, again, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this story definitely has a happy ending. I've written the epilogue already, so... it's happy. Definitely happy, possibly sad, but it depends on how you look at... zips lips Oops. Almost gave it away. **

**Well... Cheer me up with a few reviews--and thanks for those who reviewed last time. They always put a smile on my face. :-)**


	9. The Devil's Riddle

**Disclaimer: The plot's mine. Everything else, psh. It's Disney's.**

**Author's Notes: Hello, all! I hope your week has been going much better than mine. Between losing my iPod, getting into a fight with my best friend, almost getting fired, and having the sinus infection from hell, I really want to just shoot something. Like an undead monkey. Unfortunately, those are in short supply where I live, so... I banged out a new chappie for all of you! **

**Enjoy!**

**P.S. Elizabeth's version of how Will is killed is the true thing. No more confusing half-scenes. It's the real-deal people...**

**

* * *

**

**Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle**

**By: MJ**

**Chapter 9: The Devil's Riddle**

"Damn it! Damn it all to hell!" Becket groaned, pounding his fists on his desk, the slight quake causing his china to clatter. He glared at Mercer, who had just revealed that Davey Jones had sunk another one of his military ships. "Damn Norrington… and damn that Jack Sparrow!"

"He's dead," Mercer announced, looking at his nails boredly, as he leaned against the back wall of Beckett's office. "Or so said Swann, but his brain's a bit fried, now…" He let the sentence hang in the air. Beckett sighed.

"Then they must be going after him, or something…" Beckett groaned, beginning to pace his office. "…Why else would they need Jones' protection...?" He asked himself rhetorically.

Mercer coughed as Beckett paced some more, causing the shorter man to look up at his henchman.

"Jones isn't attacking our merchant ships, sir…"

* * *

"Will it ever stop bleeding?" Bill said, quite bluntly, after a horrible silence that had befallen the group sitting on the beach, staring blankly into the endless sea. 

"No." Will said quietly, leaning back and lying down, shutting his eyes for a moment as he began to ponder the situation. "Honestly, I don't feel any pain."

"None?" Charlotte asked quietly. Will opened his eyes and looked at her honestly.

"Not a thing." Charlotte pursed her lips but said nothing. "Give me your jacket… Bi--" he stopped and looked at his father for a second. "Give me your jacket… father," he said sheepishly, closing his eyes immediately afterwards, and thus missing the exchanged glance between his parents. Their eyes softened and lit up as Bill quickly took off his jacket. He placed it over Will's chest, which covered up his bleeding wound. Another awkward silence ensued, and then…

"Where were you before here, Mum?" Will asked, and Charlotte paused.

"Hmm?"

"You died about ten years ago… did… did you go to heaven?" Will asked, opening his eyes to look at her.

"…No. Not necessarily. You see, I… was always at different places at different times. They would shift and move until I thought I'd lost my mind with all the change," she said quietly, staring at her feet to avoid their eyes. "I realized that's what I always feared in life… change," she said just as quietly. Will sighed.

"William," Bill muttered, looking at his son for a moment. Will opened his eyes.

"Yes?"

"…Why did you do it?" He almost looked as if he hadn't wanted to ask. Will sighed; he knew he was going to have to talk about it at some point.

"I did it… out of love," he said, putting his hands behind his head and looking up into the black sky above them. "…Elizabeth or I had to die; we were the closest to Jack and we both played roles in his death," he said, looking up to keep from crying. "…She killed him, but I… I was the one who forced it upon her."

"How?"

Suddenly, Will seemed angry. He sat up quickly, and pounded a fist into the ground. "I didn't kill Jack Sparrow when I had the chance myself. I've had multiple chances to do it, but I couldn't bring myself to. Had I just… done it myself, she wouldn't have had to do it. She wouldn't have to live with this… guilt. This horrible guilt on her beautiful shoulders, and…" he looked up again, feeling the angry tears begin to well up in his confused brown eyes "damn it, father, mum… Damn it all, I should've done it myself!"

It was quiet for a while, Bill and Charlotte merely staring at Will as he continued to mutter curse words under his breath. He bit his lip and looked back down. Charlotte placed a cautious hand on Will's shoulder, and he broke down. He fell into her arms and sobbed into her shoulder.

"It's not fair, mum… It's not bloody fair," he mumbled into her shoulder. She rubbed his back with her hand in soothing motions as she tried to calm him down. "I love her, mum, and I miss her so much," he said, and she smiled.

"I know you do, Will… I know you do," she whispered. He pulled away, ashamed. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at his hands.

"I… I just can't believe I'll never… never get to see her again. I… can't believe she's gone," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. Bill and Charlotte exchanged glances.

"Ye will, son," Bill said, reaching out and taking Charlotte's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled. "Ye will."

* * *

"Lizzie, darling" Jack cooed as he and the rest of his comrades came out of the Captain's cabin, making their way to the bow of the ship, where she was standing, dangling the heart over the ocean. "My dear, sweet girl--" 

"Be quiet!" She yelled over his calls, shutting her eyes tightly before reopening them to glare at him. "Just—don't say another damned thing!"

"And why not?" Jack asked slyly, leaning against the railing on the opposite end of the deck. She glowered.

"Because… this is all… your… fault," she heeved, stressing the last three words as he hands gripped the bag tighter.

"How, love?" he asked simply, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at her, amused. "I don' 'member askin' ye to kill me," he said in a dangerously quiet tone, "nor do I 'member askin' t'be brough' back. Ye see, ye got yerself an' William into this mess," he looked at his nails, bored, "lucky fer th' whelp, he found 'is own way out, an' there's no one to blame but ye," he said, looking up and returning her awestruck expression with a scathing glare. "Savvy?"

"Sparrow!" Norrington bellowed from his spot below, seething mad. "What the hell are you doing? You're baiting her to drop the heart! Have you gone mad?"

"Stay out o' this, ye washed up lobster back!" He shouted back, looking at the younger man long enough to wink before he looked back at Elizabeth. "Go ahead; drop th' heart. I've been to 'ell already, an' it wasn't so bad. Wouldn't mind goin' again," he shrugged. "An' William… well, he'll be in heaven, 'm assumin'," he said nonchalantly, looking at his nails again. "But ye… ye killed a man an' sent another t' his death," he said, just as casually, "So I doubt there'll be a reunion." He looked up at her and winked, "Keep th' heart an' ye got some time on yer hands to make things righ' again. Ye do want to do tha', don't'cha?"

There was an eerie silence that befell the crew, all eyes turning towards Elizabeth, anticipating her reply. Her mouth was hanging open, her eyes staring at him with a stare none had ever come to witness. Her lower lip trembled, and she bit it, looking away to keep from crying right there, in front of everyone. She looked at the ground and looked up at Jack.

_Thud._

She let the heart go, the carpetbag falling to the deck with a soft thud. The rhythmic beating of the heart overwhelming to her as she raced down the deck stairs, the slam of the door echoing off the endless blue of ocean surrounding the ship. The silence was roaring in his ears, as he swaggered to the bag and picked it up.

"Are you mad?"

Jack turned to see not James, who he had originally thought would've said it, but instead it was someone he hadn't expected at all.

"Are you out o' your bloody mind, Jack? 'M mean, more than usual, aye?" Hector Barbossa squinted his eyes at his captain, the younger man giving him a grin.

"Ye get killed by someone ye though' was a friend, go to hell an' come back to see her try an' kill ye again," Jack said quietly, in a tone that didn't fit him nicely. "See how much you like it."

"I did," Barbossa barked up, and Jack laughed humorlessly.

"I was never yer friend," he eyed the man up and down. Barbossa shook his head.

"Ye didn't have to be. To die an' come back," Hector sucked it a breath, "is to know how important life is… how _priceless_ it is…" he walked over to the railing, "to know that someone thinks of your life as so worthless that ye should be killed again is unsettling…" he looked at Jack, "even if the man isn't yer friend at all."

Jack looked at him for a moment, and sighed. He made an awkward noise in the back of his throat—a cross between a whine and a grunt—before he said, "'M sorry."

"I'm not the one ye should be apologizing t', now should I?" Barbossa laughed, pulling an apple out of his coat pocket to examine it. "Yer life is priceless, but the life of someone ye love is tenfold as much," he looked at Jack. "He killed himself, Jack. Ye didn't see it, but he killed himself, stabbed himself righ' in the heart, jes' fer ye…" He grinned and took a bite out of his apple, letting Jack savor the feeling that thought gave him; an unsettling, anxious, guilty feeling rose in the bottom of his stomach, shooting it's way through his entire body, making him shiver. "An' ye pay 'im back by makin' th' girl he saved think her life is worthless…" Barbossa laughed, "I always knew ye were daft, but I never though' of ye as stupid." With that, he left Jack to wonder.

"_I always knew ye were daft_," Jack mimicked, gripping the bag tighter. He looked out to sea, but saw nothing; he didn't see the freedom it once held, nor did he see the prospect of a new beginning. He saw a wide, open azure abyss with nothing held to it but lies, cheats, and scams. He walked to the edge and looked down, expecting to see his reflection but…

He gasped, and turned around, his eyes scanning from left to right. His chest rose and fell animatedly as he breathed. He looked back down, but there was nothing but his own reflection.

"'m out o' me bloody mind," he muttered, walking down the steps. He crossed the decks to the stares of his men, but he paid them no mind as he walked into his office and slammed the door. "Bloody whelp; makin' me see things in the water…" He muttered, shutting the heart in a drawer and sitting at his desk. He pulled out a bottle of rum and uncorked it, "Well… t' ye, William Turner," he raised the bottle and took a swig before he slammed it on the table, "wherever the 'ell ye are."

* * *

"Lizzie?" James called, not daring to walk into the crew quarters. He heard her sniff and sighed. "Elizabeth, it's only me, I promise." 

"Go… away," she said.

"C'mon, Lizzie," James sighed, walking down the steps. His heart broke when he saw her, lying on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Please… just… tell me what happened."

"What do you mean?"

James sucked in a breath… "How did Will die?"

Elizabeth sighed, and looked away from him for a moment, before she met his gaze straight on. "He was so… brave, James, oh, you should have seen him in the moment of it all…"

* * *

_The rowboat ride to the dock had been hell for Will, staring out towards the see in a mute stare. Elizabeth sat next to him, watching him out of the corner of her eye. She saw him reach into his pocket and grab his father's blade. Gently, he grazed a finger over it, his eyes now concentrating on the blade. She bit her lip and placed her hand on his knee. He looked at her and their eyes met._

_"I love you, do you know that?" she whispered, watching his eyes. It seemed to be killing him to hear her say that, for he looked away and coughed. She assumed he was trying to clear his throat, whilst thinking of something to say; what she didn't know was that he was coughing away a shallow sob. He nodded his head mutely, and placed an arm around her shoulder, bringing her to him._

_"I do, love," he whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head. "I… I love you to," he said uneasily, and she sighed, wondering if he'd ever forgive her._

_"Will, listen… I--"_

_"¿Qué quieres?" A Spaniard called from his place at the dock. Both had been so lost in each other's eyes that they hadn't noticed they had made it to shore. Will smiled and kissed her gently on the lips as Ana Maria talked with the man._

_"Shh," he shushed her gently, smiling slightly. "You don't have to say anything anymore," he brushed his thumb over her cheek, "I understand."_

_"You… you do?"_

_"Elizabeth, I understand more than you give me credit for, love, I know what I have to do, and I've accepted it. I love you more than anything in the world, but I want you to be happy," he said, his eyes clouding over with an emotion she couldn't read._

_"I am happy, Will, with you he--"_

_"Let's go," Ana Maria said, giving one last look at the ecstatic Spaniard. "This way," she pointed into the dense forest. Elizabeth sighed as Tia Dalma pushed Will into the lead, again. He didn't look back at her, and his shoulders were squared; he was determined, and she knew his mind had been made up. What was he going to do?_

_She took her place from behind him as they made their way into the deep everglades. Tia Dalma, at the end of the line, was telling Will exactly where to step and how to step, and Elizabeth's mind was just boggled with all the information being traded between the two. What was he going to do?_

_"Where are we going?" She asked, timidly, staring at Will's broad shoulders. They tensed immediately, as if he had forgotten she was there._

_"We need to get something… it will take us to World's End," Will said quietly, his hands gripping onto his father's knife even harder; his knuckles turned white._

_"How," she huffed, as her feet sloshed in her boots, the water up to her knees, "are we going to find something **here** that will take us **there**?"_

_Will grunted, aggravated, "Just… trust me, alright?" _

_She said nothing, but she knew that although he loved her, her revelation had not brought them closer, but instead had torn them apart. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into James's stare. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "He's under a lot of pressure, I'm sure." It was meant to be reassuring, but it only drove her crazier; she was supposed to help relieve the pressures the world brought him—not add to it!_

_"This one Dalma?" Will called back as they stopped. There was a pregnant pause behind them, and then,_

_"Aye. Dis be da tree."_

_Ana Maria brought him the axe, Elizabeth was at her wit's end—she needed to say something. What was he going to do? "Will, I--" she whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder._

_"Does it matter which one, Dalma?" His eyes were distant; a thousand miles away as he scanned the numerous, ugly roots. _

_"Will—please!" Norrington's grip on her shoulder tightened, but she pushed off his hand. _

_"No, boy, just cut a ni' sized one—so it'll look goo' fer da cer'mony," Tia called back, bored. Elizabeth moaned._

_"Will, please, could we just talk a bit before you do this?"_

_"Ye ha' all mornin' t'talk," Barbossa growled, motioning with his arm for Will to continue. She didn't notice when he winked at Tia, "so shut yer mouth an' let the boy do wut he needs!"_

_Will stared at her, confused, as she bit her lip to stop the tears. He said nothing, and when she continued to be silent, he began hacking away at the largest root of the tree. It took him about five blows before it broke free; he picked it up and turned to Tia Dalma with a sort of 'now what' expression on his face._

_Suddenly, the trees around them began to shake, causing the birds residing in them to fly up into the air with a chorus of calls. The sky seemed a bit darker, as the world began to quake. Elizabeth stepped closer to Will, who wrapped his arms protectively around her. abruptly, the swamp turned into a large whirl-pool, sucking everything inside with an amazing amount of strength. Elizabeth cried out, and Will held her closer._

_Just as fast as it all began, it stopped as they landed on a hard surface. Elizabeth had landed on top of Will, and she blushed crimson when she realized. She quickly got off of him and offered him her hand. He took it and kissed it, seriousness to his eyes that she didn't quite understand in that moment. "Do you remember what I told you?"_

_"Yes," she said. A lump grew in his throat as the others came shortly later, all looking equally nervous. "Will, what's going on?"_

_"You there!" A voice shouted, calling everyone's attention to them. They turned around, and there was a demon watching them closely, leaning on a cane that resembled the root Will was holding. He flinched when he saw the bloodstains, but Elizabeth hadn't noticed. She put an arm on his shoulder. "Who is going to be performing the ceremony?"_

_"What ceremony?" She asked Will, squeezing his shoulder. He took a deep breath and said,_

_"I am." He looked both frightened and determined, truly scaring Elizabeth._

_"Ah--" A deeper voice said from a higher up position. "William Turner—have you made your decision?" He shrugged off Elizabeth hand and took another deep breath._

_"I have."_

_"Step forward!"_

_"Will! Stop!" Elizabeth said, finally understanding, the prophecy rang clearly in her mind._

_"Step forward!" The voice bellowed, and Will obeyed, taking a step outside of the invisible barrier that felt so familiar, and yet so strange to him. Elizabeth bit the inside of her cheek and followed, taking a step outside of the barrier as well._

_"Elizabeth, no!" He moaned, and she smiled at him. The look in his eyes sent waves of pain through him; it was as if he were being tortured. Her gaze held the courage she wasn't feeling as she widened her smile._

_"It's okay, Will, do what you have to do," she whispered. "I trust you."_

* * *

"We walked up those steps, you remember, don't you?" She asked him quietly, replaying the events in Norrington's head with the pieces of information he hadn't known about. "James, it was so nerve-wracking, not knowing what he was going to do. I trusted him, though. I knew I deserved to die, but I didn't think… he'd do it," she breathed in and out quickly. She sat up and he put an arm around her shoulder's in a comforting way. She let out a large breath, "We made it the rest of the way up… Hades was sitting there, glaring at us so menacingly. Have… have you ever heard the expression 'if looks could kill'?" 

"Yes," he said, watching her carefully.

"I think I died about five times… right there," she gulped, looking down at her hands. "There was this big monologue… I don't even remember it completely, all I could do was stare at the knife… on this-this alter. It was just… sitting there—made out of human skulls—SKULLS, James!" She said, sniffing. She shook her head and looked back down at her hands. "I remember Hades saying 'a life for a life—the prophecy speaks!' and… then…"

* * *

_"Everything I do, I do it for you," Will said, rising the dagger. Their eyes met in a brief moment, and she knew his decision._

_"Oh, God—Will! Please!" She shrieked as the dagger came down, piercing his flesh. He fell to his knees in front of her, and she rushed forward, but was blocked by a hidden barrier. An invisible wall seemed to be the only space between her and Will. She banged her fists against it in a rage. "Will! Will! Please… get up! I love you too much to see this happen! Please! Will…" He fell backward, his legs beneath him, the knife still embedded in his chest. She saw his chest rise and fall one last time before... "No!" She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She began to sob, but stopped when she heard Hades laugh._

_"You bastard!" She screamed all the louder. "You bloody bastard!" Two demon guards came and grabbed Will's arms, dragging his limp body into the fog. "Will!" She jumped up, banging her fists against the wall again, screaming bloody murder. "I love you…" she panted, before she fell again, her tears overwhelming her._

_"Welcome back," Hades said, smiling, not looking behind him to see that Jack had walked out of the mist. Jack was smiling, despite the pathetic picture before him. He clicked his tongue as he walked near Elizabeth._

_His boot stepped into Will's blood with a bit of a **splish**, causing Jack to wince in protest. He shook his boot before he stopped right in front of her. "Lizzie, c'mon, now, love, look 'oo's back!" He chuckled, watching as she sniffed and looked up at him. He outstretched his arms._

_"C'mon, Lizzie, not gonna give me as warm a welcome as ye gave me goodbye?" He said, his tone taking a slightly bitter tone. She snorted, before she stood up and fell into his arms._

_"I can't believe he's gone," she whispered. Not knowing what to say, Jack squeezed her a little tighter. She rubbed her eyes and looked up. Just behind Hades, she caught someone's eye. _

* * *

"To the day I die, I will never forget those eyes, James," she whispered. "I could never forget those eyes, or the look he gave me before he was sucked into the mist. 

There was an eerie silence that befell them as they sat there. James stared at his hands, not sure as to what he should say, so he said nothing. He reached out and held onto her shoulder, offering her a light squeeze in solace. She smiled.

"We're going to bring him back though, James," she said, looking much more cheerful. "We just… have to."

"Elizabeth," he said, exasperated. "Will's gone… there's no way you can bring him back."

"No, James… I haven't finished my story…"

* * *

_"Jack! You… You! This is all your fault!" She yelled, pushing him away to his confusion. Hades chuckled as his back hit against the invisible wall causing him to push forward. "You are the reason behind all of this! Damn you, Jack! Da--" She broke off into another fit of hysterical tears, and Jack made no moves to comfort her now._

_"Gone bloody crazy, ye lunatic," he said sullenly, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat there. She sniffed, trying to stop the tears, but to no avail._

_"Don't cry," Hades whispered. Elizabeth looked up, shocked._

_"What did you say?" She sniffed, and he smiled._

_"Dry your tears,  
__Little girl,  
__Wipe your fears,  
__My sweet girl,  
__And I can tell you what I shall do._

_"Off the coast of Madagascar,  
__Lies an island, full of gold,  
__One must search near, one must search far,  
__For treasures for young and old.  
__What I am telling you is true…_

_"Behold!—the treasures of love and hate!  
__Treasures of new and old!  
Behold!—the treasures of greed and fate!  
__That they cannot be sold…  
__Watch your greedy heart and jealous soul._

_"Bring me back my precious Narcissus.  
__Or choose my Jewel of the World.  
__Either will make you his missus,  
But I will not tell you in which world._

_"Oh! Or choose my Heart for the Soul.  
__Yes, my heart—you see!  
__The coldest, bloodiest part of me…  
__To choose this, you must be a fool…_

_"Of these three…  
__One will bring you back to me,  
__The other will make you live in agony,  
__And the last will give you what you truly need._

_"It is your job to choose—  
__But do so wisely—  
__For it is I—and only I!—  
__Who cannot lose._

_"So dry your tears,  
Little girl,  
Wipe your fears,  
My sweet girl,  
And good luck, on the mission that you choose."_

_

* * *

_

**Eh. Not my favorite version of the riddle (I wrote, like, six) but it was the only one I could fine, and I think it does it enough justice.**

**Any guesses as to which treasure does what? Drop your ideas in a review! **

**♥**


	10. He Brought Company

**Disclaimer: Hmm... I own a cherry-red electric guitar, a Louis Vuitton wallet, and an eight-year-old miniature dachshund, but I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. DARN!**

**Author's Notes: Officially the shortest chapter I've ever written, but it's an update all the same. This one moves the plot a bit further, and a portion of the prophecy is revealed... The motives behind the actions are revealed, and there's even a moment of... oops. Almost gave it away--ENJOY!****

* * *

**

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Devil's Riddle

**By: MJ**

**Chapter Ten: He Brought Company

* * *

**

"Will you help me, James?" Elizabeth whispered at the end of her story; watching his face carefully, she was trying to catch his emotions. "Can you help me solve this riddle?"

"Elizabeth," James sighed. "I-I—who else knows of this riddle?"

"Just Jack and me," she shrugged her shoulders, standing up suddenly. She began to pace the deck, "That's how we have our heading. We used his compass to find what I truly, desperately need—a way to find Will!" She said, looking back at James, determined. He shook his head and sighed.

"Lizzie, I… I think it's a trick."

"A trick?"

"Yes," James nodded, beginning to pace as she stopped. "Why—why would the devil help you recover a soul he just gained? What help would that do to him?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth let out a breath.

"Do you have a piece of paper on you?" James asked quickly. Elizabeth looked at him curiously.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you have something where we could write this riddle down? Dissect it, if you will?" He asked again, and she understood.

"I… yes! Will—he had a notebook," she said, moving to her lover's abandoned things. She opened the little book—glancing only briefly at his entries—and tore out an empty page. She dove further into his bag and pulled out a single charcoal pencil. "Here," she sat beside James again, and wrote out the riddle, leaving space for writing.

"Do you remember Melusine's prophecy? The one that told William what he had to do?" James asked, thinking about it further.

"I… I can try," she offered, and he sighed.

"We can do this, Lizzie… I have faith," James whispered, kneeling in front of her as she wrote.

"Good… I seemed to have lost mine when I lost Will…"

* * *

"William," Charlotte called towards her son, who was walking down the beach rather quickly. Bill, who was holding her in his arms, looked up as well. "Where are you going?"

"I need to think, Mum," Will called back, not even glancing at his parents. In truth, he needed to get away from them, because seeing them so in love and together only made him think more about Elizabeth and how long it would be before he was to see her again. This made him jealous of what his parents had, which made him sick to his stomach with disgust in himself. He needed time to think clearly about how to get through eternity like this…

"Is he alright?" Bill asked Charlotte, who sighed.

"No, Bill, he's not," she said lightly, watching her son kick a stone away as he walked, "but… there's really nothing we can do to help."

* * *

Norrington and Elizabeth had spent close to the whole day sitting in the crew's chambers, dissecting both the prophecy and the riddle, and how both came into play when it went to rescuing Will from a fate he didn't choose.

"We're not getting anywhere!" Elizabeth huffed, frustrated, as they read the same line over and over again. James sighed.

"We'll… get there eventually," he offered, but she shook her head.

"At the pace we're going, it'll be too late," she said quietly, looking at the paper again. Her brown eyes scanned its contents once more before she sighed. "Oh, Will," she breathed, defeated. She handed the paper back to James. "I have watch tonight," she told him, looking out the open door. "I'd like to get some sleep beforehand… If you'll excuse me," she squeezed his shoulder before she disappeared behind the curtained "room" the men of the ship had made for her. She waited a few moments, before she heard James leave and shut the door behind him. She let out a breath before she dropped the little notebook onto her hammock, her fingers softly tracing the lettering on the front. "Maybe this will help me," she whispered, opening up the pages with gentle care and love.

* * *

_June 19_

I am finally well enough to be able to write down my thoughts to get them all in order. After my dealings on the Isle del Diablo, I didn't have much time to record my dreams and put them against the prophecy.

For the past few nights, I've been having this reoccurring dream of me… in this… sort of… hell, perhaps? Purgatory? I don't know, but it's not pleasant…

* * *

Looking for a more recent date, Elizabeth skipped ahead in his journal, but stopped, however, when she caught her name.

* * *

_July 1 _

_Today marks the day that I proposed to Elizabeth, exactly a year ago… I wonder if she remembers, or if she even still wears the ring. I know it wasn't much—a simple golden band with a single, small—no, miniscule—diamond… but I just hope she knows that no matter how simple it is, all the love and devotion I put into making it special for her is enough of a reason to wear it…_

_Its days like today that I wonder if I'm going to be able to go through with all of this. We're about a day out from the Spanish Florida, which means I am just one step closer from taking either her life or my own… I wonder… if I die… if I would go to heaven or to hell… I don't think it would matter—wherever I would be would be hell without my Elizabeth…_

* * *

She closed the book in a rush, suddenly nauseous from the thoughts Will's words sent through her. Unconsciously, she grasped the necklace she wore around her neck—a simple leather band on which was Will's ring—and she let the tears begin to fall as she fell into an uncomfortable sleep, the journal forgotten on the ground…

* * *

Will looked behind him, not able to see his parents anymore. Turning, he sat in the sand, watching the dark, black ocean before him wearily. He wrapped his father's coat around him tighter, as if his father was holding him like he used to when Will was a child. He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of the fake sea air.

His nose twitched as another familiar smell graced his nose. _Roses_. Why would there be roses near the ocean? Roses don't grow in any of the islands, but perhaps this was something different for the underworld. Perhaps…

Didn't Elizabeth always smell like roses? His head jerked up at the thought. He remembered her perfume so quickly now—roses and… vanilla. Was he getting a whiff of that, too? Oh, he knew Hades was cruel, but this was… inconceivably so. Why would Hades torture him like--?

"Will?" A small, almost frantic voice called from behind him.

_This is so cruel… Now I'm hearing her!_

"Will--? Will… please tell me that's you!"

He opened his eyes and turned around, his heart skipping a beat—"Elizabeth!"

"Will!" She cried, running towards him as he stood. He held out his arms, spread them wide open, but she stopped a few feet away from him, her eyes widening and her mouth gaping. "Oh… oh my god, Will…" She breathed, and he followed her stare. The wound was still bleeding. He frowned and tried to close his coat but found that he was no longer able.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth, I can't feel it… honest," he whispered, wondering if this was real. She smiled, looking into his eyes.

"Oh, Will," she breathed, her eyes glancing over his face. "I've missed you so much."

"And I, you," he said, moving closer. She was cautious, though, completely aware of his wound. Finally, he brought his hands to her face, his fingers caressing her cheeks. He could feel her, but it was as if she wasn't there… entirely. Confused, he attempted to pull her into a hug, but found she was resisting. She placed a hand on his chest (momentarily forgetting his wound) before she hissed and stepped away. "What's wrong, Lizzie?" He asked quietly, watching her. She shook her head. "Lizzie?" He asked, moving closer. "Lizzie!" He shouted now, and she began to back away, frightened…

* * *

"Lizzie!"

She jolted awake at the sound of Jack's voice shouting at her. She jumped up, sitting bold upright and staring blankly at him. "What?" She asked quietly, finding her voice hoarse.

"Ye were screamin' as if som'one was tryin' ter kill ye," he shrugged, backing away. James was behind him, and he sighed.

"Why don't we not work on the prophecy for a while… since it seemed to have upset you so," he whispered, and she nodded. "Elizabeth—what's on your hand?" He asked suddenly, pulling it towards him. She gasped.

Her hand was covered in blood.

_Will's blood._

* * *

Will was running at a break-neck speed back towards his parents, a look of horror crossing his face. Somewhere, inside of him, he felt something begin to bubble, and he realized that he had hope. Hope was bubbling up inside of him, making him nearly giddy at the thought.

_I have a chance to communicate with Elizabeth…_

"Mum! Father!" He called about fifty feet away. He saw their faces turn to look at him.

"Do you think he saw her?" Charlotte whispered to Bill, watching her son smile for the first time since he had joined them. Bill nodded.

"Looks like it."

"The poor lad," she whispered. "I remember what those dreams used to do to me. They tore me up inside… They were the death of me."

"We have to tell him, you know," Bill said after a moment's pause. He looked at Charlotte. "We have to let him know that he can't keep up the communication."

"It'll take too much out of both of them."

"Mum!" Will said, finally having caught up to them. "Father! —you won't believe—I can't believe—did it really happen—oh, Mum… Father… I saw her!" He began panting, collapsing in the sand next to him. "Elizabeth… she was here—and I know it was her… I saw her…"

"Will," Charlotte tried, but Will was too excited to pay attention.

"I could touch her, and she could touch me…" he said, looking at his hands. "And her smell… her wonderful smell… Roses and vanilla—it was so intoxicating," he breathed, looking up at them. "When… will I see her again?"

"Will, you ca--"

"Soon, son," Charlotte said, interrupting Bill. She sent him a look that she would talk to him later before she reached across and squeezed Will's shoulder. "The next time she needs you… she'll find you."

* * *

"Are you hurt?" James asked quickly, moving Elizabeth about to see if she had any wounds that could have produced the blood. She shook her head, her eyes still on her hand.

"It's not my blood."

"Whose is it, then?" James asked impatiently, not entirely in the mood for something like this.

"Will's."

"Oh, come off it, Elizabeth!" Norrington said, standing up. He walked away slightly, frustrated, before he turned back to her. "It's not possible, Elizabeth."

"Not probable," she argued, looking at her hand faintly. "I was having this dream… it was so odd, James—I was walking down this beach, and I could suddenly see this figure, sitting in the distance. Not knowing where I was, I went closer… the closer I came, the more he looked like Will. I called his name, and he turned around… It was him, James… It was Will… But something… something didn't feel right. It was as if it really wasn't him; his wound was still bleeding, and he looked horrible…" She sighed softly, looking up at him. "He hugged me, but I pushed away… I pushed on his chest—and that _must_ be where this blood is from, James."

"What are you trying to say, Elizabeth?" He asked impatiently. Elizabeth sighed.

"I'm… not sure…" she said, looking back down at her hands. "But… I think that this means I have a way of communicating with Will."

* * *

Elizabeth walked on deck for her evening watch, her hand now clean, but her mind muddled with confusing thoughts and notions about what had just happened. She shook her head and sighed; she couldn't have a distracted mind during a watch—thoughtlessness could cost them all their lives.

She nodded towards Jack, at the helm, who was talking with Barbossa in what appeared to be a heated conversation. Shaking her head, she took the spyglass from Marty, who was coming off of his watch, and began climbing up the rigging towards the crow's nest. She got comfortable and kept her eye on the horizon, looking for any sign of nearing ships. In the mean time, she was picking up bits of the conversation from bellow.

"Since when d'ye listen t' a bloody woman for yer headin'?" Barbossa growled at Jack, who scoffed.

"Since Elizabeth knows what she wants most in this world," Jack said indifferently, gripping the wheel harder, presumably so he wouldn't hit Barbossa.

"An' wha' be tha'? Takin' us on some little cat an' mouse chase to win back her lover?" Barbossa asked, amused. "Ye've never cared about nobody but yerself… why are ye startin' t' now…"

"Same reason ye are, mate," Jack said, his eyes planted on the horizon. "'Cause 'eaven knows ye can't look me in the eye and tell me ye didn't know Will was goin' t'have to kill 'imself… I mean, ye could, but it doesn't mean I'd believe ya even if'n ye did." Jack shrugged, looking back at Barbossa with a smirk.

"I see we have an understandin' o' sorts."

"Aye… we do."

Elizabeth slid back downwards, her back to the edge of the crows nest, her eyes staring out towards the other wall that enclosed her. Suddenly, it was all too much. The space was too small; the air was escaping her—

"That's it," she whispered, standing up and looking down at the men, now looking more like little specks of black against the brown of the deck. Suddenly, everything seemed to click; everything, in that moment, made sense. Barbossa and Tia Dalma had known all along that Will was going to have to kill either himself or herself in order for Jack to come back. Tia Dalma had been baiting him to kill her… but why? Why did Tia Dalma try to make it so clear to Will that she was meant to be with Jack? Ana Maria had told her everything that had happened while she had been away, but neither of them knew why…

The real question, however, was why Barbossa went along with it. Now… now it all made sense. The two had an understanding.

Tia would get… Jack back?

Because…

"She's in love with him," she whispered, her eyes scanning for the island woman. Sure enough, she was across the deck from the pair, watching them closely. She looked back at Barbossa. "And he… wants the treasure the devil has to offer…"

_Don't let his surpassing greed,_

_Become your unfortunate fate,_

_Gold and silver are just things,_

_They do not equal love and hate_

Now, it was all about the questions this new information brought, and the existing questions left unanswered. Strangely, Elizabeth felt a bit freer with this new bout of information, because it brought something more that she had once lost in the chaos of it all.  
She had hope.

* * *

"I want us to make a slow appearance—friendly and nothing but. In fact," Beckett said, looking at his crew. "I want it to look like a passenger ship," he said, pacing the deck. "Mister Mercer," he said, turning to his old comrade, who nodded. "Find the most feminine looking crew member, and make them look like a woman… find a few, actually." Mercer grinned wickedly, and Beckett turned and grabbed the railing.

"You're _mine_, Jack Sparrow…"

* * *

"Ship ahoy!" Elizabeth called, an hour of so later, spotting the white sails on the horizon.

"What colors is she flyin'?" Jack called from the helm. Elizabeth lifted her eyepiece and looked. She saw… a couple. An adorable couple at the bow of the ship looking very much in love. The man at the helm wasn't wearing a uniform, but they were flying the Union Jack.

"They're a passenger ship—most likely going to England," she offered. She pushed the spyglass back in her pocket and began to climb down the rigging. She landed on the ground to turn and come face to face with a grim Jack Sparrow. She handed him the spyglass, but he dismissed it.

"Only problem wif it bein' a passenger ship, luv," he said, looking towards the ship.

"What's that?"

"We're sailin' towards Africa, luv," he put the eyepiece to his eye and paled. He handed it back to her and she looked again, seeing five or six more ships behind the first one. Jack lowered a hand and grabbed the heart. "And 'e brough' comp'ny."

* * *

**What to expect for next chapter:  
Elizabeth confronts Jack.  
Charlotte's back story is revealed; how did she die?  
The crew gets one step closer to gaining Will back, but...  
Will they survive the epic sea battle?**

**Enjoy the movie! Three more days! **


End file.
